All of the team's indoor practice and conditioning have proven to be beneficial for the Jeffs, as they have easily outlasted their opponents.
After a win in their season opener against Whittier College-in a game that was played in Calif.-Amherst continued their winning streak with a dominant 9-3 victory over Wheaton College in the first game of their northern schedule. Matt Margolis '03 had a hat trick and Eric Edelson '01 added two goals, while Rob Gibson '01, Mike Allison '04, Harlow Voorhees '02 and Chris Condlin '03 each netted a goal.
In the next game against Bates College, Amherst again came out on top, 8-5. Edelson and Condlin each netted two goals, while Gibson, Voorhees, Tucker Sowers '03 and Margolis all had one a piece.
Amherst next faced Western New England College, whom they destroyed 16-8. Amherst fed off the pain of last year's loss to the team and was ready to get some revenge.
Condlin, Edelson, Gibson and Allison all scored three goals, while Craig McBeth '04 added another two, and J.P. Bruneau '01 and Mark Cahill '01 each had a goal.
This past weekend, Amherst had tough back-to-back games against the defending national champions, Middlebury College, as well as NESCAC rival Colby College.
The Jeffs only had one day to prepare for Middlebury, and the Panthers were too much for the Jeffs. Although nerves and adrenaline were running high at the beginning, the Jeffs quickly settled down and played well.
However, this was not enough, and the Jeffs lost 17-8.
Amherst's goals were scored by Margolis, who had two and Allison, Condlin, Edelson, Gibson, Gene Nogi '02 and Sowers, who each netted a single goal.
One of the challenges Amherst faced was Middlebury's depth. Middlebury has two lines of offense and three lines of midfield.
Coach Tom Carmean decided to put Phil Cameron '02 on a Middlebury attack man and Stephen Hein '03 on a midfielder.
The strategy helped the Jeffs eliminate two key players from the Middlebury attack. David Greig '02 had an impressive game guarding last year's conference offensive player of the year. Greig kept his opponent away from the net for most of the game, effectively limiting his scoring chances.
The Jeffs did an amazing job holding off the attack but ran out of steam by the middle of the third period. Middlebury kept subbing and keeping fresh legs in the game, and Amherst could not keep up.
"I think Middlebury played an outstanding game, one of their best this year. I also think their reputation and our game last year against them made it hard to have a good start and led to a 5-0 deficit to start the game," said Edelson.
On Sunday, the Jeffs took on the Colby White Mules, winning 8-6 despite poor field conditions. "It was a mud bowl out there," said Alexei Kudla '04.
With no time to prepare for the next match, the team had to rely on their many days of hard work in practice to keep them focused.
"We're approaching every NESCAC game as a tough game. I think any team can beat any team in the league on any given day. We prepared for the Colby game like we did for the Middlebury game," said Edelson.
Edelson paced the Jeffs with a sweet spin move to get the ball past Colby's keeper 5:44 into the game.
Seven seconds later Gibson connected with the back of the net and gave Amherst a quick 2-0 lead. Allison then fed the ball off to Sowers, who scored his third goal of the season.
Defenseman Kudla intercepted a pass from a Colby player at midfield and hit a running Allison, who fed Bruneau for the score.
The Jeffs continued their dominant play throughout the first half and well into the third quarter. Colby tried to start a comeback, but the Jeffs did an excellent job holding them off.
With 2:34 remaining, a Colby player was called for a pushing foul, stopping any chance for a comeback.
"Our defense played outstanding and was the key to success in the game," Edelson said.
Amherst improved their NESCAC conference record to 2-1 with the win.
Goalie Corey Simonson '01 finished the day with 14 saves. He and Kudla continue to be the backbone of the Amherst defense.
"Corey is an amazing goalie," said Kudla.
The Jeffs next travel to Hartford to face Trinity College on Wednesday. The Bantams are 3-4 on the season.
"Trinity has started the season very well, despite their loss to Colby, and they have a very good assistant coach who actually used to be our assistant coach [four years ago]," commented Edelson.
"They also beat us 12-7 next year. But I think as a team we have the confidence that we can be the best team in our league," said Edelson.