On Saturday, the Jeffs hosted Tufts University to pick up their first NESCAC win of the season. Amherst came out dominating the game, holding the ball in their offensive end of the playing field. However, a penalty stroke by Tufts senior Dana Panzer gave the Jumbos a lead just over 11 minutes into the first period.
The Jeffs were able to reverse the momentum in the second half and capitalize on Tufts' defensive penalties. Off a penalty corner play in the beginning of the half, junior forward Katherine Skrivan fed the ball across the circle to midfielder Rachel Carr-Harris '07, who tied up the game with a blast from the top of the circle.
Neither team scored for the remainder of the half, bringing the game into an intense overtime period. The Jeffs ended the sudden death overtime eight minutes in when Carr-Harris passed the ball to Skrivan, who relentlessly pursued the goalie until she scored on a between-the-legs-shot.
"The Tufts game was the first game where we kept our heads up even after being scored on first. We did not let down," said Skrivan. "We all knew that we were going to win. We just started to believe we actually could despite being behind."
Co-captain defender Emma Feinstein '05 added, "Saturday's game was not our prettiest game, but we had no doubt in our minds that we could do it … [the win was] definitely something the team needed."
The team came out strong on Sunday as Amherst blanked conference rival Bates College and let loose their own offensive prowess. The Jeffs again maximized their chances off defensive penalties. Senior forward Erin Leydon put the Jeffs on the board 19:13 in after deflecting a pass from Skrivan off a penalty corner. Minutes later midfielder Lauren Anderson '05 followed her own shot and knocked it past the Bates goalkeeper to give the Jeffs a 2-0 lead.
With a little over two minutes left in the first half, Leydon tallied her second goal of the game off a Carr-Harris assist. First-year midfielder Carolyn Shea scored her first career goal in the last 10 minutes of play off a feed from forward Molly Gilbert '06.
The Jeffs simply dominated the Bobcats, with 22 shots to Bates' seven and 13 corners to the opponents' four.
Goalie K.C. Cosentino '05 had a fantastic weekend, only allowing in one shot off a penalty stroke and tallying 10 saves, including one off a Bates stroke. First-year goalie Kathleen Boucher saw her first action of the year in the Bates shutout.
The Jeffs were more than pleased with their performance against Bates. "We played our game. We kept control by keeping the tone and pace at our level," said Feinstein. "We started the game off a beautiful corner and that really got the momentum going."
The win over Bates marked Amherst's most prolific scoring output of the season. "We definitely clicked. Our corners were strong and their defense couldn't adjust," said Skrivan. "We pulled ourselves together. It was a make or break weekend."
"And we made it," added Feinstein. The win over Bates brings Amherst's record to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the NESCAC. The Jeffs hope to keep the winning streak going when they meet non-conference rival Mount Holyoke at home today at 4:30 before traveling to Bowdoin College on Saturday to continue conference competition.