With the loss, the Jeffs relinquish their share of first place in NESCAC and drop to third in the standings with a 3-1 conference mark.
Amherst, ranked 16th in the nation coming into Saturday's game at Middlebury, surrendered a couple of early goals and trailed 2-1 in the first period.
The Jeffs, however, responded in a big way, exploding for three unanswered goals before the first frame had ended, seizing a 4-2 lead over their hosts.
A pair of first-year attackmen, Derek Cherney and Stephen Williams, led the Amherst offense in the first quarter with a goal each.
The Panthers soon showed why they are the second-ranked team in the nation, answering with four consecutive goals of their own in the second period to take a 6-4 advantage into halftime.
But Amherst did not lie down after the break. The Jeffs responded with a pair of goals in the third quarter to knot the game at six. Cherney recorded his second goal of the game to cut the deficit in half, and attackman Alex Casertano '05 tied the game just before the end of the third stanza.
Tied at six heading into the fourth quarter, both teams strove to net the decisive goal, but attackers from both sides were stonewalled by the goaltenders.
Middlebury eventually broke through for the game-winning tally with less than five minutes to play. Amherst netminder Cushing Donelan '05, last week's NESCAC Player of the Week, recorded 14 saves on the day, but could not keep the last Panther strike out of the net.
By that time Amherst was out of comebacks, and the Jeffs ultimately fell to the Panthers, 7-6.
Cherney was the only Jeff with multiple points on the day, netting two goals and adding an assist. The rookie leads all Amherst attackers with 28 points and a whopping 19 goals.
Other goal scorers Saturday included Casertano, Williams, co-captain attacker Mike Allison '04 and defender Greg Donohue '05. Midfielder Joaquin Walker '05 also added an assist.
The difference between Middlebury and Amherst, according to Casertano, was not talent or desire, but execution.
"On Saturday, I felt we were just as athletic, if not more so, and the difference of one goal came from Middlebury converting on a number of key opportunities," he explained. "Unfortunately, we could not. We had the opportunities to seize the game, but could not execute, and the Middlebury goalie came up huge when it mattered most."
However, Casertano and the rest of the Jeffs can take solace in the fact that they forced a very close game.
The Amherst squad that played on Saturday has changed markedly from the one that lost to Middlebury 14-8 in last year's NESCAC semifinal.
"The game was so close because for the first time since I've been on the team, we were not outmatched athletically, which has been the case in prior meetings," said Casertano. "In years past, they were simply faster, stronger and made more athletic plays all over the field."
Amherst was also in action last Thursday afternoon at non-conference Endicott College.
The Jeffs jumped all over their hosts early on, scoring four first-period goals en route to a 12-8 victory over Endicott.
Eleven Jeffs pierced the scoring column, led by Cherney and Casertano, with four points each.
Amherst plays its final non-conference game of the year tomorrow against Western New England College. Assuming the weather cooperates, it will be the Jeffs' first game at home at Hitchcock Field all season.
On Saturday, Amherst goes back on the road, facing off with Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. at 2:30 p.m.
The Cardinals are 2-2 in conference play and should prove to be a decent match for the Jeffs.
Despite the loss to Middlebury, it will be a renewed Amherst team that steps on the field this week. "Being so close to a win against a team like Middlebury is bittersweet, since it is obvious we would like to have been on the other end of the proverbial stick," said Casertano. "Nevertheless, I believe it helps the team's confidence to know that we did not just get lucky and come close to beating Middlebury, rather we are a talented enough bunch to run with them and anybody in the country."