Co-captain defender Molly Jacobs '04 discussed the Smith game. "I know I personally always expect Smith to be a tough game." said Jacobs. "They're a very scrappy team, and they always have amazing intensity. I definitely feel that we dominated the second half and the overtime; it was just one of those days when the ball wouldn't get in the cage."
Last Thursday's game against Smith, a team that was 2-1 going into the match, was certainly an intense one. Scoreless through two halves and two overtime periods, the game was decided in the second round of penalty strokes. Ryan buried the game-winner.
Goalie K.C. Cosentino '05 tallied yet another shutout. Cosentino made five saves over the course of the game and blocked eight straight penalty stroke attempts.
Smith certainly put up a good fight, but Amherst was just a little stronger. The Smith net-minder, Sydney Siegel, held her own against Amherst's attack, racking up seven saves. Amherst worked extremely hard during regulation and certainly had their fair share of chances. Unfortunately, they missed a number of opportunities.
During the 70 minutes of regulation, the teams were fairly well matched. In overtime, however, there was a noticeable shift in the tempo of the game, as the Jeffs outshot Smith by a score of 8-1. During the penalty strokes, defenders Alicia Pichard '05 and Emma Feinstein '05 both found the back of the net to keep the Jeffs alive in the first round. In the second round of penalty strokes, Ryan knocked in the game-winner after sitting out all of regulation play.
Coming off such an intense victory, the Jeffs were certainly excited to take on the Bobcats, who had a 1-2 record going into the game. Amherst was defeated by Bates last season by a score of 2-0, and the Jeffs were looking forward to a different outcome against the Bobcats. Bates' field is astroturf as opposed to the grass Amherst is used to playing on. The Bobcats made the most of their experience with turf: they were fast, in excellent shape and passed fluidly. Despite only one rain-soaked practice on the turf, Amherst played a stellar game.
Bates scored first early on in the game. Lori Jessup tallied the first point of the game eight minutes into regulation on an unassisted goal. The Jeffs quickly responded, however. Lauren Sozio '04 tipped the ball into the corner of the net off a pass from midfielder Lauren Anderson '05. The majority of the game was played in the midfield between the two teams, which proved to be evenly matched. Cosentino tallied five saves, while her counterpart at the other end of the field, Sarah Judice, had two saves for Bates. Just as the Jeffs were gearing up for another overtime nail-biter, Ryan scored yet another game winner, an unassisted goal, with her first regulation goal of the season.
"I don't think the score is reflective of how well we played in the Bates game," said Jacobs. "Even though it looks like a tight game, I feel that the whole team was extremely poised and calm." With a perfect record, the Jeffs are looking forward to two more match ups this coming week against Springfield and Bowdoin Colleges.
"Both of these games showed me that we have a tough team with a lot of heart," said Jacobs. "Even when the game isn't going our way, each and every player digs in and gets it done."