Just 47 seconds into the first sudden-death overtime period, quad-captain forward Frank Perry '04 scored the golden goal, the first and only tally of the day for either side. Perry's goal, a header, was assisted by fellow quad-captain Mike York '04. With the win, Amherst improved to 5-1-1 in NESCAC and stayed within striking distance of conference leader Williams College, which hosts Amherst this Saturday morning in Williamstown.
The Wesleyan contest served as a showcase for the game's two goaltenders, Dan Penrod of Wesleyan and sophomore Greg Lockwood of Amherst. Penrod made nine saves overall, but could not give his team that tenth save which would have kept them in the game. At the other end, Lockwood turned aside seven Wesleyan shots to record his third shutout of the season.
With the game-winner, Perry now leads the team in goal scoring with seven on the year, passing both Joe Gannon '06 and Mike Wohl '07, each with six to their credit. Perry is also the team's leader in scoring (15 points), career goals (22) and career scoring (51 points). York is Amherst's fourth leading scorer with ten points, thanks to four goals and two assists.
Goals were plentiful early in the season for the Jeffs, but recently scoring has proven more difficult. Amherst has scored just four goals over its last four conference games and failed to score a regulation goal in three of them. But the defense and goaltending have risen to the occasion over the same stretch, allowing just two goals and keeping Amherst in the race for first place. Amherst has gone 2-1-1 over those four NESCAC games.
Now Amherst's thoughts turn from Wesleyan to its other Little Three rival, Williams. While Amherst was enjoying its Homecoming victory over Wesleyan in overtime on Saturday, Williams continued its winning ways by romping to a 6-0 win over Tufts University. The Ephs are now 6-0-1 in NESCAC play, and have a one game lead over the Jeffs in the conference standings.
The Jeffs are looking forward to their big contest with their Western Massachusetts rivals. "The Williams game is one of the biggest games of the year for us," said Brad Coffey '04. "It's nice to have no other games this week, so we can prepare for Williams. We have an intimate relationship with them, and we've done pretty well against them in the past."
If Amherst defeats Williams on Saturday, the two move into a statistical dead heat at the top of the NESCAC. However, an Amherst victory would give the Jeffs the tiebreaker and would allow them to host the NESCAC tournament should they win the following week against Trinity College. A win for Williams this weekend clinches the top seed and home-field advantage in the NESCAC tournament for the Ephs.
Beating the Ephs will be no small task for Amherst. Williams has won its last five conference games, outscoring its opponents by an average of 3.2 goals per game over that span. The only blemish on Williams' record is a 3-3 Oct. 20 tie to Bowdoin College. The Williams attack is powerful and balanced-they have seven players with over five points (Amherst has only four). Frank Perry, Amherst's leading scorer, would be fifth in scoring on Williams' roster.
The Ephs have scored 23 goals in NESCAC play, far and away the most in the conference. The biggest offensive threat for Williams is 2002 NESCAC Player of the Year Khari Stephenson, who's netted 12 goals and added three assists during this campaign. Lockwood and the rest of the Amherst defense will have their hands full trying to keep this striker off the scoreboard come Saturday. The Williams defense is anchored by their goaltender Nick Armington. He's 5-1-1 this year in goal for Williams, with a .815 save percentage. He and the rest of the defensive front have allowed just five goals against all year. The only team that has allowed fewer NESCAC goals this year is Amherst (four).
Bowdoin is the only other team that can potentially claim home field advantage in the postseason. Two Polar Bear wins and a combined Amherst/Williams implosion would vault Bowdoin to the top.