The celebration did not last too long after Saturday's come-from-behind win in Williamstown, however, for the Jeffs and Ephs were on a collision course to meet again just one week later in the NESCAC tournament semifinals.
The only teams that could derail that course were the Bates College Bobcats and the Connecticut College Camels, but after Amherst's 16 to 5 victory over the latter in yesterday's NESCAC quarterfinals, and after the Ephs crushed the Bobcats by a 21-3 count,
Saturday's second semifinal at top-seeded Middlebury College will feature a rematch of one of the most thrilling games of the year.
After Co-captain Kristin Osborn '01 scored on a free-position shot seven minutes in, the host Ephs rattled off four unanswered goals, three of which came from Molly Jennings '04.
The Jeffs, who rallied from three-goal first-half deficits in two of their first three games of the season, rallied again against Williams, closing to within 4-3 at halftime on goals from Scheessele and Mary Kate Allen '03.
Brooke Diamond '03, who came in for starting goalie Jess Thaxton '01 after Williams' third goal, helped on the defensive end, coming up with a couple of big saves to keep the hosts from widening their lead.
"We were making critical mistakes on both ends of the field, but playing pretty well in the midfield," said Head Coach Chris Paradis. "Brooke came in and made a couple of great saves, and that really turned the momentum around."
The stellar play from Diamond held the Ephs to only one goal during the first 18 minutes of the second half, during which the Jeffs scored on goals from Abby Ouimet '03 and Osborn, tying the showdown at five with 13 minutes remaining.
A free-position goal from the Ephs gave the lead back to the host Ephs one minute later, before Allen and Erin Beaumont '03 scored twice in a 37-second span to put the hosts ahead, 7-6.
The Ephs had one more run in them, however, and Heather Black's second goal of the game with 2:13 left sent the two teams to overtime, Amherst's first overtime game since 1998.
After the Jeffs and Ephs traded stellar scoring chances during the first overtime period without any results, the game headed for a sudden-death overtime period. Cara Coscarelli '02 won the opening draw to give the visitors possession. From there, the Jeffs called a set play for Scheessele, setting up the game-winning heroics.
"We called the play before the period started," said Paradis. "It ends in an isolation for Scheessele, and they executed it perfectly."
After 40 seconds had elapsed, the ball found its way to the senior, who was one-on-one with a Williams defender. Scheessele broke in, spun towards the middle, and at the last second, broke back to the left, and shot across her body for the game-winner, sealing the dramatic, come-from-behind win.
"They've just been believing in themselves all season," said Paradis. "This was the kind of game that showed that."
The Jeffs, after the narrow victory on Saturday, had something of an easier time of it yesterday, opening up a 12-3 halftime lead before cruising to the 16-5 win over Conn in the first round of the NESCAC Tournament.
The win sets up the rematch with Williams, with the winner facing the winner of the Middlebury/Colby College semifinal in Sunday's NESCAC championship game.
Amherst can all but clinch a bid to the NCAA Tournament-and probably a number-one seed-with a win on Saturday, but the Ephs, who eliminated the Jeffs from NCAA consideration last year with a 12-9 victory on Pratt Field, have other ideas.
Williams, ranked fourth in this week's national poll, needs a win over Amherst to keep their NCAA hopes alive, setting the stage for one more installment of what has become the best rivalry in all of Division III women's lacrosse.