There were times when it seemed the Jeffs could not get the ball out of their own end. There were also times when the sustained pressure seemed as if it were bound to produce a goal for the home team. One thing that seemed to define the game as a whole, though, was the inability to create. Neither the Polar Bears nor the Jeffs had that one crisp rush up the field. It seemed as if every through ball squirted too far, every cross skipped aside, and every corner kick deflected wide.
Amherst started the game strong, keeping the ball in the Bears' end for much of the first ten minutes. Their best chance to score early came on a corner kick. Midfielder Jenny Rossman '04 played the ball towards the center, and Tri-captain midfielder Cathy Poor '02 got a head on it. Unfortunately, Bowdoin keeper Emily Rizza made the save. The Bears soon answered with a scoring opportunity of their own. Bowdoin forward Jill Falwell made an impressive run up the left sideline and crossed it, but her pass just missed the target and trickled aside harmlessly.
After a back and forth first half, Bowdoin dominated the first twenty minutes of the second. The ball stayed near the Amherst net, and while Bowdoin did get some shots on Tri-captain goaltender Hallison Putnam '02, they were unable to generate many good chances.
Tri-captain back Margaret Rubin '02 was pleased with the play in their own zone. "For the most part the shots [Bowdoin] had weren't great opportunities because the defense was there forcing the mistake," she said. The Bears' best opportunity came midway through the second half on a close range shot. Putnam made her best save of the day by diving to her right to smother the ball.
The Jeffs seemed to feed off of the save, finally regaining the advantage. A flurry near the Bowdoin net produced plenty of chances but no finish. The only thing to get past Rizza were two players who tumbled into the net in pursuit of an Amherst cross. Regulation came to an end without a goal from either side. In the first overtime period, Jeff striker Tracy Montigny '05 made a long run from midfield towards the Bears' box, at times challenging several defenders. For a moment it seemed as if it might be that sudden strike. However, with no one to pass to, there was only so much time before Montigny surrendered the ball. In the second overtime, the Jeffs almost won it on a corner kick. Rossman laced the ball into the crowd, above which Poor leaped and struck the ball well. But the header whistled just high and wide.
With the tie, Amherst goes winless in its last three. However, Putnam made 10 saves to record the second shutout of her brief goaltending career. Throughout the game, it was Rossman's corner kicks that seemed to generate the best scoring opportunities for the Jeffs. Even though none were converted against Bowdoin, Rossman stayed positive. "As long as I keep putting the ball up there, [Poor] or someone is bound to score," she said. The "let 'em play" style of the referee drew the ire of both the fans and the Amherst bench. As players tumbled to the turf (often directly in front of the home seating section), the referee kept his whistle in his pocket. Rossman, though, was not fazed. "It was a well fought battle everywhere on the field," she said.
With the 3-0 loss earlier in the week to Springfield College, Amherst is now scoreless in its last two games. The Jeffs hope to return to the win column today as they host Massachusetts College. On Saturday, Amherst will welcome Middlebury College in a conference game.