Despite bad weather, the foot of freshman forward Joe Gannon propelled the Lord Jeffs to victory in a tight, well-played game.
In a close-fought first half, both teams had opportunities, but neither was able to score despite a close shot produced by a Red Dragon corner kick that was then saved by a Jeff defender.
In the second half, however, Amherst took control and, with 20 minutes left in regulation, Gannon scored for the tenth time this season. The rookie phenom found a seam through the Cortland defense and flew out on a breakaway, then deflected a low shot off the goalkeeper that caused the ball to slowly roll to the endline. However, senior midfielder Carlo Valdesolo was quick in following the play and retrieved the ball at the end line just in time to slot a pass back to Gannon, who nailed it into the back of the net for the game-winning score.
Cortland nearly scored with only a minute remaining. Though the ball made it into the Amherst net, Cortland's goal was nullified due to a foul called for roughing the goalkeeper.
Amherst goalkeeper Dan Glenn '05 had his first shutout in just his second start of the season, posting four saves for the Jeffs.
"Glenn really stepped up in goal and made some crucial saves," said defender Matt Langione '05.
With the win on Saturday, the Jeffs improved to 13-4-1 overall and have won nine out of the last 10 games of the season.
In addition to scoring the winning goal on Saturday, Gannon also earned NESCAC Rookie of the Year honors on Nov. 13 after finishing the season fourth in assists per game (.53) and fifth in points per game (1.59) in the NESCAC. Gannon's receipt of this award marks the third season in a row that it has gone to an Amherst player. Junior forward Franklin Perry won the award in 2000 and sophomore defensemen Andrew Syfu won last year. This season, Perry was recognized with a Second-Team All-NESCAC selection along with Gannon and defenseman Tim Canon '04, who helped lead the Jeffs to an impressive .93 goals against average.
With the victory over Cortland, Amherst was scheduled to play St. Lawrence University in the regional final Sunday. However, due to the poor weather conditions, NCAA officials postponed the game to today.
Adaptation to the weather will play an important factor in the game, according to Langione. "The rest of the season will depend a lot on toughness as the weather gets colder and injuries add up," he said.
The game may be broadcast live on the Internet by the St. Lawrence University campus radio station WPDM at noon. If so, Amherst's sports information website will have a link to the webcast.
"At this point, we're trying to turn a good season into a great season," said Langione. "We have the talent, it was always just a matter of playing cohesively as a team. For the first time since I have been here, we have begun to do that."
The winner of the match-up will play host to Arcadia College. On Monday, Arcadia defeated Williams College, 5-4 in penalty kicks.