On Saturday, the Amherst women moved quickly off of a 2-2 tie with host Wesleyan early in the game. Abby Ouimet '03 flurried the Cardinal net for four goals in the first half and Liz Martin '04-who leads the Jeffs with 34 goals on the season-followed suit with four scores of her own to mark a 10-3 Amherst advantage at the break. Ouimet went on to post a career high six tallies on the day. "They were giving her a lot of opportunities to dodge and she was just capitalizing on that," said Martin. "She's a great player who just looks to succeed."
Martin's five goals were supplemented with two strikes on the day from Mary Kate Allen '03 and one from Allison Aldrich '04 to finish up the Amherst assault.
Wesleyan seemed overwhelmed following the Martin/Ouimet assault in the first half and never fully recovered. Rebecca Vogel and Martina McPherson each wrangled the ball past Amherst goaltender Brooke Diamond '03 twice, but the Cardinal offense didn't threaten again until a three-goal effort in the game's final minute. Diamond turned away 12 shots for Amherst and the Jeff offense converted on 14 of 22 attempts. "Brooke did an amazing job in goal," said Allen. "She had a lot of key saves for us."
The defense, led by co-captains Cara Coscarelli '02 and Carrie Foster '02, had an outstanding performance in keeping the Cardinals out of their zone. "[Coscarelli and Foster] are really good leaders and their intensity carries throughout the entire team," said Allen.
The Wellesley game was a good predictor of things to come against Wesleyan. In Wellesley, visiting Amherst never trailed,and found itself the beneficiary of a 10-1 lead at the half. Martin scored six goals on the day and Ouimet added three insurance nicks and three assists of her own. Meanwhile, Erin Beaumont '03, Jackie Sargent '04 and Allen each found the back of the net twice and Laura Schifter '03 powered through the Wellesley defense for a quick two goals and two assists.
The Wellesley offense came off the sticks of Claudia Veritas, Laura Bender and Grace Tsan. Veritas pounded out two goals and two assists and Bender made her mark on the Amherst defense with two hits of her own. Tsan's one-goal, one-assist effort would not be enough to counter the Amherst scorers and Diamond stayed solid in the net once again, making seven saves for the Jeffs. On the other side of the field, Ashleigh Korves stopped nine shots for Wellesley.
With her contributions in these games, Martin was named NESCAC player of the week. She is tied with Ouimet for a leam-leading 37 points.
Amherst will head to Maine this weekend, stopping at Bowdoin College on Saturday before taking on Bates College the next morning.
The Jeffs expect tough competition from both teams. "They shouldn't be taken lightly," said Martin. "They should definitely be strong competitors, but with our skill, we should be able to win."
Then the Jeffs will come home to host Tufts University on Wednesday and Williams College next Saturday, before NESCAC Tournament action begins the next day.