Last weekend the Jeffs traveled to Williamstown, Mass., to take on the Ephs of Williams College. Although the Jeffs put up a valiant effort, the Ephs controlled the flow of the game, taking a relatively easy 3-0 win on their home turf.
The first half was an up and down battle over the entire field. Neither team was able to gain an advantage early, but the the Ephs broke the stalemate just minutes before the end of the half. Junior Stephanie Noering converted off of a pass from Tori Scott, giving the Ephs a 1-0 lead going into the break.
"The Williams game is always close, no matter how each team's season is going," said Abby Ouimet '03. "They just came out stronger and played a more fluid game, and we weren't able to come back after they got ahead."
In the second half, the Ephs picked up where they left off, constantly pressuring the Amherst defense and keeping the ball in their offensive zone for most of the period. With just six and a half minutes gone in the half, Scott added to the Williams lead when she knocked the ball into the back of the Amherst net.
The Ephs added their final goal with 13 minutes to play in the game, when Molly Jennings beat Amherst goalie Beth Sensing '02 on a penalty shot, sending the ball into the upper right portion of the net. Although Sensing allowed three goals on the day, she also had 13 saves. "We knew that Williams would be good." said Robin Ackerman '02, "but we struggled to play at our normal level."
On Oct. 6 the Jeffs played host to Middlebury College in a battle of the NESCAC's top two teams. The Panthers came into the game ranked 11th in the nation, and they left with a 1-0 victory, snapping the Jeffs' eight-game winning streak.
Neither team was able to put up much of an offensive attack, but Middlebury was able to make the most of its 11 shots. Char Glessner scored the lone goal of the game, just under two minutes into the second half, sending a backhanded shot into the lower right hand corner.
The Jeffs were unable to make the most of their offensive chances, as they had 12 penalty corners on the day, but they only forced the Panther goalie to make two saves.
Sandwiched between these two conference losses, the Jeffs pulled out a 2-0 victory against Smith College.
Both teams went into halftime knotted in a scoreless tie, but midway through the second half the Jeffs took the lead for good. Ouimet tallied the game-winning goal with just over 16 minutes remaining in the match. Ouimet converted off of a pass from Erin Layden '05. With 4:41 remaining, she added her second goal of the match and team-leading 10th goal of the season to seal the victory.
Amherst utterly dominated the flow of the game, but the strong play of Smith goalie Sydney Siegel kept the Pioneers in the match. The Jeffs had a total of 14 penalty corners, while the Pioneers had none, and the Jeffs peppered the net with 29 shots. Siegel kept Smith in the game with 13 saves, but the relentless Jeff attack finally proved to be too much.
In previous action, the Jeffs traveled to Hartford, Conn., to take on Trinity College on Oct. 3. This time the Jeffs offense kicked in right away, scoring three goals in the first half to effectively put the game away.
Ouimet started the scoring just over four minutes into the game, when she converted on a pass from Tri-captain Mairin Brady '02. Later, Tri-captain Marcy Busch '02 added the eventual game-winning goal, knocking one in unassisted.
Although the Bantams were getting outplayed by the Jeffs, they did not lay down. Just over a minute after the second Amherst goal, Trinity's Beatrice Gratry cut the lead in half, but Trinity was not able to get any closer.
Christine Ryan '04 added the final Amherst goal on a penalty stroke two minutes and change before the intermission, and neither team added to its total in the second half.
As the Jeffs head into this week's play, they need to rebound out of their mini-slump. Currently in a tie for third in the NESCAC with Williams and Bowdoin Colleges, the Jeffs finish their season with two conference games this week. First up the Jeffs will face Tufts University this afternoon in a road game. Tufts has struggled this season-with a 3-8 overall mark-but the Jeffs need a solid win to regain their confidence. "We have to be confident that we can win, and realize that our season is not over yet," said Ackerman.
The Jeffs will then take on Wesleyan University in their final match of the season this Saturday. Wesleyan has also struggled this season, but they are coming off of a three-win week.
"I think the biggest thing we have to do is just focus in on our last two regular season games and the NESCAC tournament," said Ouimet. "We need to hold on to the disappointment of the Williams game so it will make us play harder, but we can't dwell on that loss."