The Jeffs finally broke through the Jumbo defense in the 82nd minute. Piercarlo Valdesolo '03 took a corner kick for the Jeffs and Ryan Goodband '02 was in front of the net to head it in.
Amherst goalie Bill Orum '02 made three save as the Jeff defense stifled the Tufts' strikers.
Last Saturday, the Amherst College men's soccer team blanked Trinity College 3-0 to ensure a spot in the 2000 NESCAC Championship Tournament. The game eliminated Trinity from post-season conference play.
Going into the game, the Jeffs expected a challenging match. "It was an important NESCAC game, which added to the intensity and pressure," said Co-captain Judson Coplan '01. "We knew it would be a tough match. Especially because they're a solid team."
Amherst first scored on a throw-in deflected off of Trinity goalkeeper Michael Doherty 23 minutes into the game. Bradford Coffey '04 threw the ball in, and Doherty tipped it into net.
Forward Franklin Perry '04 converted his team-leading eighth goal of the season in the 60th minute. On a breakaway he dribbled past three defenders and slid a shot past the goalie. Charles Franklin '01 made the final score when he blasted a right-footed free kick into the top corner of the goal.
In this game Amherst tried out a more defensive alignment consisting of five backs: a right and left wing, two centers, and a sweeper. Goodband settled the defense after a shaky first 15 minutes.
Goalkeeper Orum had an outstanding game, with his fifth shutout of the season. He had six saves, as opposed to Doherty's two.
But Trinity put up a good fight, especially in the first half. "They did a great job of moving the ball around, especially against the wind," said Coffey. With this loss, the Bantams fell to 5-6-3 overall and 2-6-1 in NESCAC. Amherst improved to 4-5 in conference play and 7-5-2 overall.
For the next match, the Jeffs hope to improve on finishing their scoring chances. "We had a couple of nice goals," said Coplan. "But there's still room for improvement on shot-taking and scoring on corner kicks."
In their second game of the week, on Tuesday, October 24, the men beat Springfield 3-0 in this non-conference match-up.
Goodband scored first in the 11th minute off a corner kick from midfielder Valdesolo.
The Jeffs added another tally 64 minutes into the game. Off of a Coffey throw in Coplan headed the ball off of a Springfield defender and into the net.
Five minutes later, midfielder Chris Kane '03 set the final score at 3-0. After receiving a pass from freshman midfielder Tim Canon, he made a right-footed shot over the head of Springfield goalie Derek Bostic. The shutout was shared by Orum and Anders Watson '02.
The Jeffs next take on number one ranked Williams College this weekend. The game will be played at Williams at 11:00 a.m.