The Jeffs stood at 7-0 after a 2-0 win over Mount Holyoke last Thursday. Thanks to a goal from Polar Bear Jackie Templeton in the first overtime, however, the record will stand at seven straight wins for at least one more year.
In the first half of Saturday's conference showdown, the Polar Bears had an edge in possession thanks to solid midfield play, taking advantage to create scoring opportunities. The Amherst defense held firm, however, thanks to Beth Sensing '02 in net.
The Jeffs had scoring chances of their own in the opening 35 minutes, including a couple of close calls by midfielders Robin Ackerman '02 and Co-captain Gretchen Bowe '01. Bowdoin goalie Jill MacDonald was up to the task, however, and the game went to halftime scoreless. The hard-fought battle continued into the second half, with both teams putting together offensive runs. Again, the defenses kept the game scoreless through the end of regulation.
In overtime, the Polar Bears opened with a strong offensive surge, earning a pair of early penalty corners. The Amherst defense held, leading the Jeffs into transition, where they were able to force two penalty corners of their own.
With just over two minutes remaining in overtime, a long free hit by Bowdoin slipped through the Jeff midfield, finding the stick of Polar Bear forward Leah McClure. McClure slotted a perfect pass to
Templeton, who snuck a shot past Sensing for the dramatic overtime game-winner.
"I thought we played a hard-fought game," said Allison Aldrich '04. "Bowdoin showed us a lot of things we hadn't seen so far this season, and I think we had trouble adjusting to them."
The Jeffs had no trouble adjusting to their other opponent last week, however, using a pair of first-half goals from midfielder Marcy Busch '02 and solid defense to post a 2-0 shutout win over the Mount Holyoke Lyons, their sixth straight victory over the local rivals.
Aldrich, however, said that there were some positives to the outcome of the Bowdoin game. "Having a game like that at this point of the season will only make us better in the long run," she said. "We'll just have to bounce back this week."
With the loss to Bowdoin, the Jeffs will need a strong showing against the Bantams, who they host this afternoon at 4:30, and the Panthers, who they will battle in Vermont on Saturday, to remain atop the league standings.
Last year, the Jeffs swept Trinity and Middlebury for the first time, and another such sweep would put the Jeffs back in contention to repeat as conference champions. "All of our conference games are really important," said Christine Ryan '04. "We just have to take them one game at a time, beginning with Trinity."