Amherst marked an aggressive day against 17th-ranked Colby and came away with the 14-9 win, largely due to junior attacker Abby Ouimet's seven points on two goals and five assists. Liz Martin '04 found the back of the net five times for Amherst, adding to her team-leading 19 tallies. The Jeffs scored first on a Martin goal off a Ouimet assist and never looked back, despite a four-goal effort from the Mules in the first half.
"Colby was a good win for us," said goaltender Brooke Diamond '03. "We played well right from the start and got up 3-0 early on. That was important, because they came back and turned it into a game." The Amherst squad took a 7-4 cushion into halftime and goals from Laura Schifter '03, Martin and Ouimet late in the game insured the Jeff win. On the other side of the field, Diamond clocked in for 13 saves.
Amherst carried its three-game winning streak into Wednesday's tilt at 20th-ranked Trinity to come away with a crushing 15-2 win and a 2-0 NESCAC record. Ouimet notched three goals and three assists and Martin added on four goals and an assist. Meanwhile, Mary Kate Allen '03 came away with three goals of her own. Diamond stood her ground in goal, stopping nine shots on the afternoon. Diamond was quick to credit the stalwart Amherst defense in front of her for its part in the win. "Trinity was a great game for us, probably the best we've played all year," said Diamond. "Our defense played so well that [Trinity] got very few good looks at the cage, and our offense was clicking and really looked good."
"After playing so well at Trinity, we were really excited going into the Middlebury game," said Diamond. "Obviously, the game did not turn out like we wanted it to." The Jeffs and the Panthers battled it out on Hitchcock Field during the Jeffs' home opener, but the Panthers had the edge in what would become an 8-4 Middlebury win.
"I think part of the problem was that there was so much leftover emotion from last year that it kept us from playing as well as we're capable of playing," said Diamond. The Panthers took a 4-3 lead into the break, but Allison Aldrich '04 fought back for Amherst, scoring her second goal of the game on an Ouimet assist 34:38 into regulation. The Aldrich score cut the Middlebury lead to 5-4, but Middlebury stifled any attempts at an Amherst comeback with three unanswered goals from Julia Bergofsky, Kristen Hanley and Char Glessner. Glessner's goal, her third of the day, came with 14 minutes left in play to end the afternoon's scoring action.
The Jeffs tried to muster some offense during the game's final minutes, but Panther goalie Sarah Grenert blanked Ouimet and Aldrich from only several feet away in the last three minutes to deflate Amherst's hopes for good. With the win ensured, the Middlebury offense played it safe, knocking seconds off the clock and chipping away at Amherst's opportunity.
"We outshot them, but we didn't capitalize on our chances and really made their goalie look good by shooting right at her," said Diamond. In the net, Diamond put out a 12-save performance. Aldrich's two goals led all Amherst scorers and Allen and Martin each pounded out a score to mark up the Amherst book. Bergofsky and Nuala O'Donohue posted two goals each for the visitors.
"I think mentally we were a little intimidated by the idea of Middlebury," said Diamond. "But now we've seen that they're not superhuman. They're definitely beatable, we just can't make so many mistakes."
"The reason we lost is that we didn't play too well," said Martin. "We're an incredible team and we just didn't play to our potential."
Diamond said she looked forward to seeing the Panthers again. "We're all excited about the idea of hopefully seeing them again in the playoffs, because we know that we didn't play anywhere near our potential on Saturday. We can't wait to show them what we can really do," added Diamond.
Yesterday, the Jeffs took on visiting Connecticut College for a 14-5 win against the Camels, moving the Amherst record to 5-1. Before the game, Diamond expressed her team's need to regain its momentum. "Conn is an important game for us in terms of getting another NESCAC win," she said. "Also, they're the kind of team that has nothing to lose and will come out hard looking for an upset. We have to show up and play well to guarantee a win. Most importantly, the game is key for getting back to the kind of lacrosse that we're capable of playing."
The Jeffs were led by Aldrich's six goals on the day. Martin had another impressive game, tallying four goals and an assist. Attacker Erin Beaumont '03 also tacked on a pair of goals to go along with her two assists.
Conn was a pesky team in the first half but could not match Amherst's power in the second half, where the Jeffs scored eight times and held the Camels to a single goal.
Tomorrow, the Jeffs will travel to Wellesley College for a 4:30 game, before visiting Wesleyan University on Saturday. The four-game road trip will also send Amherst to Maine to face Bowdoin and Bates Colleges, before the Jeffs head down to Hitchcock Field to play Tufts University two weeks from today.