But if the loss to Conn. was a speed bump, this weekend's loss to Williams College was a three-car pileup on the interstate during rush hour, backing up traffic on the highway for hours in both directions. Amherst dropped a convincing 5-2 decision to Williams, clinching a first round bye and home field advantage in the NESCAC playoffs for Williams and sending a message to the Jeffs that it's going to take more to enjoy success at this time of year.
The game started out well enough for Amherst, but Williams soon took control of the contest. Quad-captain forward Frank Perry '04 notched his team-leading eighth goal of the year at 22:09 of the first half, staking the Jeffs to a 1-0 lead on Williams' home field. But the Ephs did not take well to trailing at home, and the Jeffs' lead proved to be short-lived. Just 39 seconds after the Perry strike, Williams' leading scorer, Khari Stephenson, put one past Amherst keeper Greg Lockwood '06 to tie things up for the Ephs. It was Stephenson's 13th goal of the year. Williams would add another before the end of the first half to take a 2-1 lead into the break.
Williams, the sixth-ranked team in the nation, came out strong in the second half. Just 51 seconds into the second frame, Josh Bolton beat Lockwood to give the Ephs a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 lead at home. But the Jeffs did not wither under the pressure; they responded with their best soccer of the day. Midfielder Christian Alexander '06 scored an unassisted goal at 57:56 of the second half to cut the Williams lead in half. Amherst continued to keep pressure on Eph netminder Nick Armington.
But Amherst would be unable to get another shot by Armington, who made four saves on the day. Eph Brett Olson, who had assisted on the third Williams goal, took the game into his own hands by scoring two unassisted goals in seven minutes to ice the game for Williams. The final score was 5-2.
"They were better prepared for the game than we were-they had an offensive attack that we couldn't defend," said quad-captain defender Mike York '04. "The biggest difference was their level of technical ability and ultimately their style of play. They had numbers on every attack and overwhelmed our defense. Greg played well, but we gave up too many point-blank shots that he was helpless [to stop]."
Williams, predictably, relied on its high-powered offense to put Amherst away. The Ephs were averaging 3.3 goals per conference game heading into this weekend's match against Amherst. Five goals on Saturday only increased that mark. By scoring those goals, Williams also became the only NESCAC team all season to score more than one goal on an otherwise stingy Amherst defense. With its two goals, Amherst became just the second NESCAC team all season to score twice on Williams (Bowdoin College scored three goals in an early-season tie with Williams).
Speaking of Bowdoin, the 5-1-2 Polar Bears moved past Amherst (5-2-1) this weekend to claim a hold on second place. Bowdoin will likely finish second place in the conference as they visit last place Bates College this weekend. The third place Jeffs, meanwhile, will entertain Trinity College at home.
A loss this weekend could drop Amherst into fourth place, setting up a potential NESCAC semifinal rematch with Williams, but that's a possibility the Jeffs don't want to think about. Trinity, at 2-5-1 in NESCAC, could prove dangerous as it fights for its playoff life. But the Jeffs have little interest in preserving any Bantam dreams of glory.
"Trinity is a game that we should win regardless of what happened Saturday [against Williams]," said York.
With just one game remaining in the conference schedule, the playoff picture is coming into focus. Williams is the top seed and will host the semifinal and final rounds of the tournament the weekend of Nov. 8. Bowdoin, Amherst and Middlebury Colleges will all host first round playoff games on Sunday, Nov. 2 (against whom is anybody's guess). Wesleyan and Tufts Universities have already clinched spots and will be on the road Sunday. Saturday's results will determine whether Trinity, Colby or Conn. will claim the seventh and final spot in the postseason.