"We are coming together slowly but surely," said Co-captain Meg Riley '01. "With the schedule how it is, hopefully that will put us at the top of our game in time for the NESCAC tournament."
In order to stay in the middle of the seven-team field for the first-ever conference championship, which begins three weeks from yesterday, the Jeffs needed a strong showing in their last two league matches, beginning Tuesday at Trinity.
Following a scoreless first 45 minutes in miserably cold and rainy conditions, the Jeffs came out in the second half as a much different team.
Led up front by strikers Brianna Porco '03 and Laura Raybould '02, the squad began to pressure the Trinity defense, trapping the Bantams deep in their third of the field. Stellar play in the inside midfield from Cathy Poor '02 and Jenny Rossman '04 helped to set up several scoring opportunities, with the best coming in the 50th minute.
After a transition in the midfield, Poor sent a pass down the left wing to Porco. The sophomore dribbled past a Trinity defender before sending a long cross into the box, where Raybould was able to get the edge of her right foot on it, chipping it over the Bantam goalie for her first career score.
Raybould's goal only seemed to further energize the Amherst offense, as the Jeffs continued to dominate on the offensive end. Six minutes after Raybould's first goal, she almost added another one, only to have her booming right-footer from the top of the box slip just wide of the left post. Co-captain Alexa Faigen '01 and sweeper Katie Shipley '03 each had shots hit the crossbar in the minutes after Raybould's goal before, in the 78th minute, the Jeffs put it away, using a familiar offensive weapon, a Rossman to Poor corner kick. For the fifth time in six games, Rossman's corner found Poor for a header, and the junior converted, netting her league-best eighth goal of the season.
Trinity did not threaten late, and the Jeffs improved to 4-2, notching their third conference win.
"The weather was definitely a factor, especially in the beginning of the game," said Riley. "We were back on our heels a little bit in the beginning, but we rallied and finished strong."
Saturday at Bowdoin, the Jeffs found themselves in trouble early again, after Polar Bear forward Shellie Chessie headed a corner kick past Brooke Diamond '03 to take a 1-0 lead at the 11:01 mark. The Jeffs charged right back, and Porco, once again, was the culprit. After a long ball down the wing, Porco sent a cross to Rossman at the top of the 18. Rossman dribbled past a defender, and sent a right-footed blast on the Bowdoin net, besting Polar Bear goalie Sarah Farmer to equalize the match.
From there, the game turned into a battle in the midfield, with neither team able to score during the last 75 minutes. In overtime, the story remained the same, with both teams threatening, but neither converting. By the end, the Jeffs had held off the 17th-ranked team in the country for 105 minutes after Rossman's goal, earning the hard-fought 1-1 tie.
With the 1-0-1 week, the Jeffs improved to 4-2-1, including an impressive 3-1-1 record in their first five conference games. But the next 11 days will be integral, as the Jeffs play five games, including four in an eight-day stretch beginning on Saturday.
Today, the Jeffs head to the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, looking to avenge a 1-1 tie with the Mohawks last year that, very possibly, cost the Jeffs an NCAA tournament berth. Saturday, the Jeffs finish their four-game road swing at Middlebury College against the team responsible for both of their losses during their 11-2-3 campaign last year, before they return home for three huge games next week.
On Tuesday, the Jeffs host Tufts University, a tough conference foe, before Thursday's tilt against Eastern Conn. State and Saturday's showdown against Williams College, currently the number-two team in the nation.