With only four regular season games remaining and an impressive record of 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the conference, the women's lacrosse team is well on the road to postseason success. Though no one doubted their talent after last season's NCAA Final Four appearance, on April 6 Amherst hit a wall, registering their first and only loss of the season to top-ranked Middlebury College. However, the Jeffs have rebounded strongly with three wins in the last week despite unpredictable and, at times, unpleasant weather conditions.

On April 10 Amherst hosted Wellesley College and came away with a convincing 21-9 win. Midfielder Liz Martin '04 netted six goals, while tri-captain attacker Erin Beaumont '03 scored three, and midfielder Mary Kate Allen '03, attacker Abby Ouimet '03 and attacker Laura Schifter '03 each contributed two goals. Midfielders Allison Aldrich '04 and Jackie Sargent '04 put in an additional goal apiece. The remaining goals came from two first-years who scored a pair each: attacker, Scotty Hanley and defender Caitlin Parker.

"The Middlebury game hit us all pretty hard," admitted Beaumont. "But, we left that experience knowing that we needed a positive rebound. So, we made a decision to come together as a team and move forward."

Amherst returned to the field the following Saturday to continue moving forward with a game against NESCAC and Little III rival Wesleyan University. A strong offensive effort came from the same cast of characters. Aldrich and Martin contributed five goals each, and an additional three from Allen and one from both Ouimet and Sargent helped the Jeffs slide through to a confident 15-10 win.

"Saturday was an important NESCAC win for us," said tri-captain goaltender Brooke Diamond '03, who came up with 15 saves to bolster the Jeff defense. "Wesleyan's program has been dramatically improving every year and they really came out ready to play against us. We were able to organize the defense in the second part of the first half and through the second half so that they had limited scoring opportunities."

A mere 12 hours after the end of the Wesleyan victory, the team traveled to Connecticut College for yet another conference game.

"The quick turn-around between the weekend games and the fact that Connecticut didn't play on Saturday was evident in the first ten minutes," said Diamond, "but we quickly mobilized ourselves and refocused to outplay them for the rest of the game." Outplay them they did, with a 17-8 finish for yet another Amherst victory. Ouimet came up big with five goals to bring her season total to 23. Allen chipped in three and Beaumont, Martin, and Aldrich each came up with two. Schifter, Hanley and attacker Kelly Leisman '04 each scored one goal for the win.

"The last three games have been great," said Head Coach Chris Paradis. "Our offense has been clicking and our defense is improving each game."

According to Paradis, many players, new and old, have really stepped up their level of play and have influenced the team's success. In her junior season, Aldrich has become an integral part of the team's defensive system. Hanley, a rookie, has been a starting midfielder and has contributed six goals and six assists in the last nine games. Other players to look for are Margaret Chute '06 who, according to senior tri-captain Annie Jamieson, "had a great game [Sunday] and added a lot of intensity to the defense," and classmate Parker, who scored her first two collegiate goals this past week.

The Jeffs will return to action this Saturday when they take on NESCAC opponent Bowdoin College at Hitchcock Field.