The Williams game was the closest win all season for the 13-1 Jeffs, who average an astounding seven-goal margin of victory. In the overtime thriller, Amherst proved that it has the grit and will to win important, close games.
The tight game consisted largely of back-and-forth scoring and determined play from both sides characteristic of any Amherst-Williams matchup. The Ephs came out on fire, reminded perhaps of last season's two tight losses to the Jeffs, one of which came in the NESCAC Tournament. Despite a large and supportive home crowd, the Jeffs did not match the Eph intensity and faced an early 6-2 deficit. However, Amherst put together a rally before the end of the first half to draw within two goals on scores by senior tri-captains Liz Martin and Allison Aldrich, assisted by junior Ashley Harmeling and Martin, respectively.
The momentum should have been going in Amherst's direction at the beginning of the second period. However, Williams had other ideas. Three minutes in, Eph Amy Wicker scored her second goal of the day to put Williams ahead by three goals; this lead would be the largest for either team for the rest of the game. Martin retaliated with two more goals, the first assisted by Dana Kuper '07 and the second unassisted, to put Amherst only one goal behind. Williams scored again with 18 minutes left to play.
Amherst came back with a vengeance. Aldrich had two goals and Scotty Hanley '06 added one of her own as the Jeffs took a one-goal edge with a 3-0 run. However, the lead was not to last and the remainder of regulation play had all the drama one expects in the rivalry. Williams tied the game with less than three minutes to go. Then, with 30 seconds left to play, the Ephs fouled Aldrich, giving her a free-position shot. Aldrich passed the ball to fellow senior tri-captain Jackie Sargent, who scored the go-ahead goal.
However, the win was not quite complete. The Ephs won the draw to re-start play and took the ball downfield. Williams' All-American, Molly Jennings, scored the tying goal with 16 seconds left, and the game went into overtime.
Neither team scored in the first three-minute overtime. However, after winning the opening draw of the second period, Harmeling took the ball all the way downfield to score the game-winner and put the final score at 11-10, Amherst.
Olivia D'Ambrosio stopped all three Williams shots in the overtime periods, including a stop of Jennings that saved the game for Amherst. "Olivia had some great saves in overtime against Williams," said Harmeling. D'Ambrosio had 13 saves in the game. Margaret Chute '06 and Caitie Parker '06 were both essential in helping D'Ambrosio on defense, according to Harmeling.
The next day's game proved less trying for the Jeffs, the second seed in the NESCAC Tournament. Though it is always difficult to beat a team twice in a short period of time, Amherst did just that against seventh-seeded Tufts in the first round of the tournament.
Amherst has been starting games off slowly of late. "We need to work on our draw-controls and ground balls at the start of the game," said Hanley.
The Jeffs again got off on the wrong foot by giving the Jumbos an early 4-1 lead. With 11:44 gone in the half the Amherst offensive juggernaut returned with fervor, reeling off four straight goals. The Jeffs boasted a 6-5 lead at the half and things only got better as they outscored the Jumbos 7-2 in the second frame to make the 13-7 win look elementary. Harmeling and Martin starred, as they each scored five goals on five shots.
"We had better shot selection on Sunday," said Hanley.
"Almost every time we shot against Tufts we scored," added Harmeling. Indeed, Amherst's shooting percentage of .722 against Tufts was more than double the .355 percentage recorded on Saturday against Williams.
Earlier in the week, a somewhat closer game against the Jumbos ensued as Amherst traded leads with Tufts before coming away with a 14-10 victory. Harmeling had six goals and three assists while Aldrich scored three and assisted on two more. Martin poured in two goals and a pair of assists, posting her 300th career point in the process.
Harmeling's incredible 19 points on 13 goals and six assists in the week's three games earned her co-NESCAC Player of the Week honors for the second time this season.
Amherst faces Williams again in the semifinals at Middlebury College on Saturday. The Jeffs are hoping for winning results once again, though this time around perhaps the game will be less tense.
"When we first played Williams, we picked it up very well in the second half. Now we need to work on picking it up in the first half," said Hanley.