The Lord Jeffs opened their NESCAC schedule March 30, with a home game against the Colby College White Mules. The visitors jumped out to an early lead on an opportunistic goal from midfielder Blake Grosch. With the ball deep in their own zone, Amherst tried to quickly change its defensive matchups. Colby recognized the momentary lapse in the defense, centered the ball and Grosch buried it in the back of the net. The Mules would add another tally before the Lord Jeffs stormed back with a trio of goals to grab a 3-2 lead. The White Mules, however, would score another goal to tie the game at three before the first quarter came to a close.
This type of back-and-forth play would characterize the rest of the game. Amherst took a 5-3 lead into the half, but the game was tied at seven heading into the final quarter. In the final frame, the Jeffs grabbed a two-goal lead on goals from attackman Chris Condlin '03 and midfielder Matt Margolis '03. But they couldn't make the lead stand up. Colby tied the game at nine before Barron Butler netted the decisive goal with just 1:27 left on the clock. The Mules would slip another past goaltender Cushing Donelan '05 to secure the 11-9 come-from-behind victory. It was a hard fought game, but Amherst can take solace from the fact that the team's nine goals came from seven different players.
Amherst tried to shake off the defeat the following Saturday, when they visited the imposing Middlebury College Panthers. Middlebury, ranked number one in the nation, proved to be too tough an opponent for the young Amherst squad.
The hosts pounced on the Jeffs early, scoring nine goals in the first quarter to Amherst's one. They continued pouring it on in the second, taking a 14-4 lead into halftime. But Amherst pulled it together after the break, matching Middlebury goal-for-goal in the second half. In the end, Amherst couldn't overcome their large first quarter deficit and lost 20-10.
Six different Amherst players found the scoring column, while Margolis paced the Jeffs with three goals. On the 10 Amherst strikes, not one assist was registered. Also of note is that the Jeffs forced the three Panther goaltenders to make just eight saves. Middlebury was led by David Seeley, who tallied seven goals and an assist.
"Middlebury is a very good team," said quad-captain midfielder Gene Nogi '02. "We settled down and definitely took something from the game, which will hopefully help us in the next seven NESCAC games."
In addition to the two NESCAC games over the past two weeks, Amherst also played a pair of non-conference games. On March 28, Amherst opened its home schedule with an 18-4 thumping of Wheaton College. Both Condlin and attackman Alex Casertano '05 registered six points in the game.
Then, on April 4, Amherst traveled to Schenectady, N.Y., to battle Union College. Amherst stormed back from a late deficit but came up just short, falling to the hosts 10-9. Midfielder Harlow Voorhees '02 tallied four goals and an assist.
Now Amherst stands at 3-4 (0-2) in the young season. Amherst's average margin of victory has been more than 10 goals, while in defeat the Jeffs have fallen by an average of only four goals. Amherst is just 1-3 in games decided by three goals or less. The Jeffs have certainly played a lot of teams close this season, but have not been able to pull out many of the tight games.
"I think we've improved not as much as we would have liked to," said Nogi. "But it's one of those things where we're a young team and we still have a ways to go. We just have to turn it around in the close games."
Amherst hosts Trinity College today before visiting Wesleyan University on Saturday. The pair of NESCAC games should be a good test for Amherst, a team looking to reestablish its presence in the conference.