The Polar Bears dominated almost every aspect of the game on Saturday, showing why they are the team to beat right now in the NESCAC. The Jeffs kept the game scoreless for the first 34 minutes, until Julie Barnes beat Jeff goalie Brooke Diamond '03 for an unassisted goal. The score remained 1-0 at halftime as Amherst desperately tried to keep the game close. But Bowdoin had too much firepower, as Melissa Anderson and Jill Falwell scored just over three minutes apart for Bowdoin, putting the game out of reach for the Jeffs.
"We just didn't come out to win," said Mary Sarro-Waite '05. "We came out to play around, but not with the drive to win. We weren't mentally prepared for how hard they came out. We need to accept [the loss], but also start anew in the second half of the season. It was an eye opener that we need to step up and play as a team."
Amherst's offense struggled all day against the surprisingly stingy defense of Bowdoin. Through eight games this season, Bowdoin has dominated its opponents offensively, scoring 23 goals. The defense has been suspect at times though, allowing almost a goal a game. Against the Jeffs however, the Polar Bears looked unbreakable on defense.
Diamond recorded seven saves for the Jeffs, but her effort was not enough. Polar Bear goalie Anna Shapell shut down all of the Jeffs' five shots on net.
Against Springfield, Amherst battled wet conditions to escape with a hard-fought 1-0 victory. Sophomore Lee-Jay Henry scored her second consecutive game winning goal in only her second appearance of the season, after a pre-season injury limited her to spectator duties in the first five games. Adrienne Showler '05 recorded her first assist of the season on Henry's 34th minute goal.
"I would like to think that I contributed on the field," Henry said of her return to action. "I definitely think that there was something missing, but we're working on getting that back right now. We need to create more scoring opportunities. We have a lot less shots per game than the other teams. The whole team needs to work together. It's not just something the forwards need to do, it's a team effort getting the ball in places where we can score."
The Jeffs found the wet conditions very difficult to play in, but were able to stay focused and take advantage of the few opportunities given to them. "The rain definitely made it harder to play a finesse game. You want to control the ball, but not play around with it. It was a tough game because we weren't used to that type of weather," said Sarro-Waite.
Diamond earned her fourth shutout of the season and the 28th of her illustrious career with a two save performance against Springfield.
This week, the Jeffs travel to Wheaton College on Wednesday before facing NESCAC rival Middlebury on Saturday in Vermont. The game against the Panthers is especially important for the Jeffs, who have two conference losses already. The Jeffs need to win as many conference games as possible to make up for their losses to Bowdoin and Tufts University and to put them in good position heading into the NESCAC tournament.