Coming off an impressive 2-0 victory over non-league opponent Smith College on Wednesday, which saw the Jeffs limit Smith to only four shots on goal, Amherst looked to be starting the season exactly where it left off last year.
"[Even though] we were supposed to beat [Smith], they had some good freshmen and a new coach. It was a good game," Tracy Montigny '05 said.
Midfielder Adrienne Showler '05 scored her second goal of the season in the 16th minute against Smith. Jenny Rossman '04 and Mary Sarro-Waite '05 picked up their first assists of the season on the play. Showler has shown a tremendous knack for scoring since her move from striker to midfielder at the beginning of the season.
Less than three minutes later, midfielder Ashley Harmeling '05 also notched her second goal of the season on a rebound off the crossbar. "Ashley is one of the people we're constantly looking to," said Montigny. "She's really stepping up."
Harmeling has adjusted very quickly to Amherst's high level of play and has been very impressive after a one year absence from the soccer field. "Being a transfer hasn't affected me much," she said. "The girls are really nice and make it easy and Coach [Michelle] Morgan is amazing and has helped me a lot during the beginning of the season."
Amherst goalie Brooke Diamond '03 added her second consecutive shutout, the 26th of her career, to her resume. The defense provided great support in front of Diamond, led by freshman Lyn Wojcik and two former midfielders, Katelyn McCabe '03 and Leslie Curren '05.
"Lyn has been excellent at stopper," said Montigny. "We don't have as much leadership without Kate, so we're trying people in new positions. Leslie has replaced Kate Shipley ['03] on defense and Katelyn has moved from midfield to back."
In the shocking loss to Tufts, Amherst could not match the aggression and determination of the Jumbos. "We created a lot of opportunities to score and we got a little unlucky," said Harmeling. "It just didn't go our way. They were very aggressive and we weren't as aggressive."
Diamond surrendered her first goal of the season in the 28th minute to Tufts sophomore Jen Baldwin. The Jeffs again were playing without injured co-captain Shipley and were also without another starter on defense, Sarro-Waite. "Mary has stepped it up and Katelyn [McCabe] has been really solid. Saturday we were missing Mary and had three freshman starting on defense, so that kind of hurt us," Harmeling said.
The Jeffs' number two national ranking will probably drop when next week's polls come out, but rankings are not something the team has been thinking about recently. The Jeffs are just trying to take it one game at a time.
"Initially there was pressure, but everyone seems to be grounded about what we have to do to have another great season," Harmeling added.
Montigny thinks that the loss will wake the team up to the realization that they still have a lot of things to work on. "It's a wake up call, we now have a reason to work even harder every day," she said.
With two games this week, the Jeffs will waste little time trying to make up for their first loss. Amherst defeated both Bates College and Eastern Connecticut State University last season, but refuses to look past either school this year.
"We beat both teams in the regular season last year, but they are both important games," Montigny added. "It's different this year. When Kate went down, we lost a lot. The offense and midfield has to step up now more than ever."