The women took an early lead against Wesleyan, with first-half tries by Kieran Collins '03 and Elizabeth Hawkins '03. The tries were the women's first first-half points of the season. This increase in offensive production is the result of an increasingly aggressive strategy the women have adopted.
"We've been working on playing a more offensive game," said Club President Becca Muse-Orlinoff '03. "We've been outplaying every team; we just have to prove that by scoring tries."
The men began their first victory by taking a commanding 30-7 at the half, behind tries by Dave Stasiak '03, Dave Straub '02 and Irv Rakhlin '04 and two kicks for points by Seth Birnbaum '02. A series of penalties in the second half put Stasiak and Richie Hodel '02 in the "Sin Bin" (penalty box), and the Terriers were able to narrow, but not close, the gap on the strength of three quick tries.
"It was a routing," said Birnbaum.
On Oct. 6, the women's team tied Williams College 5-5 at home. The game was a fierce defensive struggle played in heavy intermittent rain. The Jeffs dominated the Ephs, and not a few plays ended with an Eph lying on the ground, crying out in what seemed like excruciating agony.
Williams scored first, early in the second half, exploiting a momentary gap in the solid Jeffs defense to bring the score to 5-0. Amherst struggled to come back, returning to the physical style of play that had characterized the first half. After a drive that found the Jeffs in the Williams try-zone for almost 10 minutes, Collins muscled her way in for a try that tied the game 5-5. Hawkins, kicking without benefit of a tee and on wet, slippery grass, narrowly missed her attempt for extra points.
That day the men's team faced the University of New Hampshire Wildcats, a team that many expected Amherst to beat easily. The game was closer than had been expected, and a blown call gave UNH the 11-10 upset victory.
When the game ended, most-including the players on both sides-believed the game ended as a 10-8 Amherst win. Amherst had scored twice on tries by Stasiak and Straub, while UNH had managed only a try and a kick for points, with a second attempt at a kick having gone wide.
As play ended, however, the referee named UNH the victor, announcing that the second kick had indeed been good. The Jeffs protested the result, and attempted to appeal the decision to the NERFU league officials. The Wildcats had videotaped the game, but would not turn the tape over to the league, so Amherst dropped its challenge, citing that-with or without the win-the team is unlikely to make the playoffs.
The women play their final regular season game next Saturday at 11:00 a.m. at UMass, which narrowly defeated the Amherst squad earlier this season. The Jeffs have improved since that game, and enter the game with high expectations.
"We're going to come out very strong and aggressive against UMass, because they're a really great team," said Muse-Orlinoff. "We're expecting to do really well against them. I think we can beat them."
The men face UMass at home on Saturday at 1:00. "It's always a good game, because it's a huge rivalry, but we should win," said Birnbaum.