So it was for the women's lacrosse team, who swept a trio of games against nationally-ranked teams to open their 2001 season last week, concluding with last Thursday's dramatic 8-7 victory at the College of New Jersey (TCNJ), last year's NCAA champions.
"It's an incredible way to start the season," said Allison Aldrich '04. "We just need to stay focused, because there are still a lot of big games ahead of us."
The Jeffs, however, already have three very important games behind them, thanks to a combination of leadership from the upperclassmen and impressive play from the newcomers.
In the season-opening 12-7 victory at Mary Washington College, Sarah Scheessele '01 led the way with four goals.
Abby Ouimet '03 added a hat trick, as the Jeffs passed the first test of the week with only a few speed bumps along the way.
After the win over Mary Washington, the Jeffs found themselves on the short end of a 6-3 margin at halftime of Tuesday's date at Salisbury State University, a Final Four team one year ago.
In what would become a recurring theme, however, the Jeffs took over after halftime, beginning with an early goal from Molly O'Connor '03.
After closing to within one, at 7-6, the Jeffs turned to the talented freshman pair of Aldrich and Jackie Sargent '04.
Sargent netted her first career goal with 11:49 remaining to knot the game at seven.
Aldrich, who scored two goals against Mary Washington, added a pair of goals 64 seconds and six minutes later to seal the 9-7 victory for Amherst.
Brooke Diamond '03, who came on for Jess Thaxton '01 midway through the first period, had a stellar day between the pipes, allowing only two goals in 45 minutes.
The win over Salisbury set up a 1-2 showdown at TCNJ, with the two teams holding the two top spots in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll.
Again, the Jeffs trailed by threegoals at halftime, and again they rallied.
This time, however, they turned to a more familiar source, co-captain Kristin Osborn '01.
Osborn, who averaged 6.67 points per game as a junior, was slightly off her average in the first two games. She had netted only a pair of goals and three assists in the two wins.
After a first half against TCNJ where she failed to score, however, Osborn took over full force.
The two-time All-American connected on a free-position attempt, 2:58 into the period to close the Jeffs to within two, 5-3, before a TCNJ goal extended the lead back to three just 53 seconds later.
From there, Osborn scored four consecutive goals, including the game-tying goal. This goal occurred off another free-position chance at the 8:38-mark.
The senior gave the Jeffs a 7-6 lead with her fifth goal in 20 minutes, putting the visitors ahead just inside the seven-minute mark. It was not quite over yet though.
The Lions would not go away quietly. With a 76-game home winning streak and a 121-game regular-season win streak on the line, the hosts rallied, knotting the game at seven just 37 seconds after Osborn's tally.
With the competition distracted on Osborn, the Jeffs turned to Scheessele, the top scoring threat of the week, for the heroics, and the senior did not disappoint.
After receiving a feed on the left wing with just over four minutes left, Scheessele cut to the goalmouth, finishing with an impressive one-on-one move with a right-handed blast to put the Jeffs ahead for good.
The Lions rallied late, but a pair of late saves from Diamond, who again surrendered only two goals in relief of Thaxton, and a forced turnover from Mary Kate Allen '03 in the final minute sealed the win, as the Jeffs dealt the Lions their first loss since an 11-8 loss to Amherst in the 1999 NCAA National Semifinals.
"This whole week was about confidence," said Head Coach Chris Paradis. "In the second half, we just settled down and played together. It was amazing."
With the win over the Lions, the Jeffs took the top spot in the IWLCA poll for the first time in school history.
Osborn, who finished with goals on five of her six second-half shots against TCNJ, moved to within one point of Greta Green '96 for Amherst's all-time scoring record, and to within two goals of Heidi Cline '98 for the school's goal-scoring mark. Osborn was named both the 360Lacrosse and the Warrior/Inside Lacrosse Division III Player of the Week.
The Jeffs open their home and northern schedule against Colby College on Saturday at Springfield College.