The Jeffs, who received their second-consecutive and third-ever-bid to the NCAA tournament after a 13-1 regular season, drew the honor of hosting the regional along with a rematch with the Red Dragons, the same team that Amherst had defeated in the NCAA national semifinals last year to advance to the NCAA title game.
In Saturday's rematch, the first half saw the two teams battle back and forth, with the Red Dragons holding a 7-3 edge in shots. One shot from Abby Ouimet '03 skirted just wide of the Cortland post, while a pair of Cortland shots, including one each from sophomore Julie Gentner and junior Kim Anthony were turned away by Jeff goalie Beth Sensing '02.
Overall, both teams had their chances in the opening half, but neither converted. "We made some adjustments at halftime to get more depth on our attack," said Cortland Coach Cynthia Wetmore. "We were in the right spots in the second half."
Amherst Coach Chris Paradis agreed. "They really took the game to us, especially on offense. We just struggled to put things together."
The game remained deadlocked through the first dozen minutes of the second half, but the momentum was definitely favoring the visitors, who posted three early second-half shots.
On the third, Cortland midfielder Erin Ryder sent a rocket into the penalty circle, which was deflected by junior Andi Noyes at the top of the circle, and past Sensing into the back of the net. Noyes' goal, her first of the season, gave Cortland a 1-0 lead that they would not relinquish.
From there, Cortland's midfield began to take over possession, limiting the hosts to isolated runs, and no real scoring threats. Though Amherst earned four second-half penalty corners, they managed no shots on goal in the second period, the first time all season that they were held shotless in a half.
Cortland sealed the game with 5:12 remaining after a scramble in front of the Amherst net saw the ball deflected to Anthony, who converted for her fifth goal of the year, capping the scoring at 2-0.
The Jeffs, who set a new school record with 13 wins during the regular season, finished the 2000 campaign with a record of 14-3, the second-best performance in school history, and a series of impressive wins, including their 2-1 triumph over Springfield College, the lone Amherst opponent to advance to the NCAA Final Four.
After knocking off the Jeffs on Saturday, Cortland endured a cruel twist of fate themselves on Sunday, falling to William Smith College on penalty strokes, almost one year to the day after the Dragons used strokes to up-end top-seeded Lebanon Valley College in the 1999 Elite Eight en route to their Final Four appearance.
For the Jeffs, who lose Co-captain Gretchen Bowe '01 to graduation, the 2000 campaign ended a little too soon, but the team will return an incredible core of starters next year, with Bowe the only senior on the 2000 squad.