The Jumbos jumped out to an early lead with an unassisted goal in the fourth minute from Elizabeth Tooley.
But the Jeffs answered quickly. Striker Tracy Montigny '05 put home the rebound of a shot from Tri-captain midfielder Cathy Poor '02 that had deflected off the crossbar. Poor got the assist. The game would remain tied at one through the remainder of a wild but interesting first half.
In the second half, Henry asserted herself with a pair of goals that came just 69 seconds apart. In the 64th minute, the forward tucked a shot just inside the left post off a pass from Montigny.
Then in the 65th minute, Henry again took a feed from Montigny and finished. Amherst would hang on to the two goal lead to earn a trip to the semifinals.
On Saturday, Amherst closed the regular season with a 2-1 victory over the Wesleyan Cardinals (2-10-1).
The Jeffs got off to a fast start, keeping the ball in the Cardinals' end and the pressure on their goalkeeper Ella Naef.
Amherst maintained a steady diet of corner kicks early on, and midway through the first half they finally got on the board. In the 23rd minute, Midfielder Jenny Rossman '04 took a corner kick from the right side and played it high above the Wesleyan keeper towards the far post. Tri-captain midfielder Hallison Putnam '02 was there to head the pass into the left corner of the net for the one goal lead.
The lead would be tested early and often in the second half by the Cardinals. Wesleyan looked like a different team after the break, moving swiftly through the Amherst defense and generating several quality scoring chances, but goalkeeper Brooke Diamond '03 stood her ground, repeatedly denying the Cardinals. But the tenuous Amherst lead could only hold up for so long under the heavy Wesleyan attack, and the Cardinals scored in the 62nd minute to tie the game.
But that game-tying goal seemed to jumpstart the lagging Amherst offense. Just two minutes after Wesleyan tied it up, Poor scored on an assist from Henry.
Henry and Montigny dominated the remainder of the game. Using breakaway speed and pinpoint passes, the two generated several more scoring opportunities that just missed. Henry attributed their dominating play to grit: "[Montigny and I] were really tired ... It was all determination," she said.
Head Coach Michelle Morgan was pleased with the way her team responded to the Wesleyan goal. "It's always easier to play after being scored upon," she said. The win gave Amherst, with a 5-3-1 conference record, the third seed in the NESCAC tournament.
Right now, the prospect of going all the way is looking good for the Jeffs. They stand just two games away from the NESCAC title. "We're at the top of our game," Putnam said.
Morgan also expressed the utmost confidence in her team. "We can beat Williams. We can beat anyone," she said.
The competition will be stiff this Saturday, when Amherst meets second-seeded Middlebury College. The game is at Williams College, with the winner advancing to Sunday's championship game against the winner of a Williams-Bowdoin match-up.