Right now, the Lord Jeffs are flying high. Yesterday they defeated Tufts University 10-7 in the NESCAC quarterfinals before a rain-soaked home crowd at Hitchcock Field. Now Amherst has a four game winning streak heading into this Saturday's showdown at top-seeded Middlebury College in the tournament semifinals.
The Jeffs hit the ground running yesterday. After the visiting Jumbos won the opening face-off, goaltender Cushing Donelan '05 came up with a big save on the first shot of the game. It was a good omen for Donelan, who would have an eventful afternoon.
The Jeffs didn't waste any time in the ensuing possession, getting a goal from Tucker Sowers '03 to take the 1-0 lead. Amherst took a 3-1 lead into the second quarter and held a 6-3 advantage at the half. But in the second half, things got wild.
The highlight of the game came during the third quarter. Donelan got control of the ball in his own end. Surveying the entire field in front of him, the rookie goalie decided to run it up the field. With teammates howling at him to pass them the ball, Donelan moved up field unphased by his mates and uninhibited by Tufts defenders. Once in the Tufts end, he was knocked down by a defender, but managed to maintain control of the ball. Donelan got to his feet and, with the defender still draped over his back, faked out the opposing goalie and scored.
"That was a real momentum change," said Head Coach Tom Carmean. "It really knocked the wind out of them pretty solidly."
But Tufts managed to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter. They scored three times to cut the Amherst lead to 10-7, but the Jeff defense and a stellar Donelan kept Tufts at bay for the remainder of the game. The game was marred by some pushing and shoving after the final horn, but no punches were thrown amidst the tumbling bodies and order was quickly restored.
Carmean praised the play of his defensive unit during the game's closing minutes. "Individually, we had a lot of great plays on defense. We stayed on long defensive stints and did an outstanding job," he said. "Overall, we got a good team effort. We got a lot of people involved and a lot of people did big things for us."
Donelan had perhaps his best game as a Jeff, recording 23 saves in 59 minutes. Backup goalie Jay Garvey '02 played one minute during the second quarter and made one save.
On Thursday, Amherst played at last-place Connecticut College for its fifth consecutive road game. This one also proved easy for the Jeffs, who outscored their hosts in the first, third and fourth quarters to secure the 8-4 win.
In the Jeffs' final regular season game of the year, they took on arch nemesis Williams College before a large home crowd on Saturday. Heading into the game, both teams stood at 4-4 in conference play. Amherst came out strong and never relinquished its lead, beating Williams 12-8.
Midfielder Andrew Syfu '05, who has been injured through much of the season, started things off for the Jeffs with his first goal of the year midway through the first quarter. The Jeffs would go on to take a 3-2 lead heading into the second quarter, a 5-3 lead at the half and an 8-4 advantage after three. Having outscored the Ephs in the first three quarters, the Jeffs never let their visitors generate much momentum.
Donelan was strong in net for the Jeffs. He turned aside 15 of the 20 Williams shots he faced in his 57 minutes. Garvey got touched up for three goals in three minutes, but also turned aside three Eph shots. It was the final regular season game for Garvey, a backup to standout goalie Corey Simonson '01 and Donelan during his time with the Jeffs.
As the regular season came to a close, a quick glance at the stat sheet showed that whatever happens against Middlebury on Saturday, the future looks bright for Amherst. In addition to Donelan, who figures to be a fixture in goal for the next three years, other freshmen distinguished themselves as well. Attackman Alex Casertano '05 was the leading scorer for Amherst with 18 goals and 22 assists while midfielder Joaquin Walker '05 recorded eight goals and four assists on the year, good enough for eighth on the team in scoring. In fact, six of Amherst's top 14 scorers were freshmen.
However, next year's Jeffs will have to go without midfielder Harlow Voorhees '02, who led the Jeffs with 26 goals. The only other seniors to register points this year were quad-captain midfielder Gene Nogi '02, who tallied eight goals and one assist, and midfielder Damon Talbott '02, who scored three goals on the season.