The team opened its season against a tough Clarkson University squad last Tuesday night, falling 13-10. The Jeffs were able to match the Golden Knights goal-for-goal in the first half, taking a 5-5 tie into the locker room. But after the break, Clarkson stormed out for five goals in the third quarter, grabbing a 10-8 lead. Clarkson closed out the Jeffs in the fourth quarter, securing the win.
Midfielder Harlow Voorhees '02 paced the Jeffs with a hat trick, while attackman Alex Casertano '05, midfielder Tucker Sowers '03 and midfielder Matt Margolis '03 all enjoyed multi-point games in defeat. Attackmen Chris Condlin '03 and Mike Allison '04 also scored.
Also notable was goaltender Cushing Donelan '05, the rookie netminder who was making his collegiate debut. Donelan stood tall between the pipes, recording 18 saves and giving his team the chance to win.
Head Coach Tom Carmean was happy with the effort he got from his young team in the season opener. "Clarkson turned out to be a good team," said Carmean.
The Clarkson squad would later go on to win the Terrence O'Connor Tournament by scoring 11 straight goals to defeat host Alfred University on Sunday. "A 13-10 loss to Clarkson was a good sign for us," added Carmean.
The Jeffs got another good sign the next day, when Amherst romped to a 18-2 blowout win over Keene State College. Once again Voorhees notched three goals. The other 15 tallies came from a whopping 11 players. Highlighting the barrage was attackman Andrew Meeks '04, who led the Jeffs with five points. Allison, attackman Craig McBeth '04 and Casertano all added four points as well.
Donelan turned aside all five shots he saw in the first half, earning his first career win. Backup goalie Jay Garvey '02 got some time as well, allowing two goals and making a career-high seven saves in the second half.
The final game on the slate for Amherst was against NESCAC foe Hamilton College. While the game did not count towards the NESCAC standings, the 11-10 Amherst victory Friday night still looms large for the team.
The Jeffs jumped out to a commanding 11-6 lead over the Continentals on the strength of hat tricks from Allison and quad-captain midfielder Gene Nogi '02. But Hamilton stormed back late, recording four straight goals to cut the Amherst lead to just one. But in the end, the 11 goals were all Amherst needed to win.
In addition to Allison and Nogi, Condlin, McBeth, midfielder Colby Griffith '05 and Margolis all had multi-point games for Amherst. Donelan made 22 saves for Amherst in the win. Both Casertano and Voorhees, who leads the Jeffs with seven goals, continued their fast starts with a goal apiece.
Carmean noted how the young team came together during their week in Florida. "From the first to the third game, the freshmen made a lifetime of growth as quickly as they could," said Carmean. "Some of the older guys really took leadership roles and the freshmen just followed suit."
The head coach was also quick to praise much of the roster. "It was pretty balanced, really," said Carmean. "We had strong contributions across the board. Allison, Margolis and Nogi really stepped up. [Senior quad-captain Phil] Cameron did an unsung job in the midfield. [Freshman Greg] Donohue shut down a 50 goal scorer against Hamilton, a preseason all-American."
Tomorrow Amherst will have its home opener against Wheaton College, at 4 p.m. The Jeffs start conference play on Saturday against Colby College.