The Jeffs kicked off their busy week with a 13-7 road win over Tufts University last Wednesday. Amherst led by just one goal, 7-6, in the fourth quarter, before pouring it on and securing the win. The Jeffs surged ahead with six of the game's final seven goals to ensure the 13-7 win. Amherst never trailed in the contest, thanks in large part to freshman goaltender Cushing Donelan's nine saves. Both midfielder Harlow Voorhees '02 and attackman Alex Casertano '05 recorded four goals in the game.
But Amherst once again could not make the momentum from the win carry over into its next game. The Jeffs dropped a heartbreaker to Bowdoin College in overtime on Saturday, 10-9.
The Jeffs would be coming from behind all day. Down 5-3 in the second quarter, Amherst tied the game at six heading into the half. The Jeffs trailed 7-6 in the third, but evened the score heading into the fourth. Amherst would continue to fight back in the fourth quarter, eventually sending the game into overtime. In the extra session Polar Bear Ted Scholhamer put the game winner past Donelan for the dramatic 10-9 win.
Midfielder Colby Griffith '05, who tallied three goals, was the top goal scorer for the Jeffs. Co-captain midfielder Gene Nogi '02 also added two strikes of his own.
The Jeffs enjoyed another close game the next day against Bates College, but this time managed to come away with victory. Trailing through much of the contest, the Jeffs headed into the final frame down by one goal. Finally, with just 1:08 left on the clock, Voorhees scored his third goal of the tilt to knot the game at seven. It didn't take Amherst long to strike in overtime. Just 17 seconds into the extra frame, attackman Craig McBeth '04 sent everyone home with his second goal of the game.
Another top scorer for Amherst was attackman Mike Allison '04, who had two goals and an assist on the day. Voorhees also added an assist to his hat trick, while Donelan made 12 stops in net.
"[This weekend] was a great boost in confidence for us, especially playing two really close games," said Allison. "Both were really intense."
Seven of the 10 NESCAC teams will advance to the postseason. The Lord Jeffs have a 3-4 NESCAC record, which places them in a tie for fifth place with Bates, Tufts and Wesleyan University. All four teams are just one game behind Williams College, sole possessor of fourth place, and one game ahead of ninth place Trinity College. All of these teams are in a position to get themselves into the playoffs, but all are also dangerously close to dropping out of the mix. The final week of the season should be a battle.
"Our team's becoming a lot more patient on offense and things are coming together naturally," said Allison. "We don't need to force our offense anymore. Things are really just clicking now and we're getting a lot more breaks. Everything seems to be going our way."
Amherst has two games this week, playing their fifth straight road game tomorrow at Conn College, the last place team in NESCAC. Then on Saturday the Jeffs close out their regular season at home against the Ephs, a game with both bragging rights and playoff positioning on the line.