At Wesleyan, Amherst started off behind and made a valiant comeback; however, it was not strong enough for them to bring home the win.
Louisa Mook and Molly Adams each scored for Wesleyan in the first half to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead at the break. Just 8:40 into the second half, Jenn Wasserman scored Wesleyan's third goal, giving the Cardinals a lead that looked insurmountable. The Jeffs kept fighting, however, and refused to give the Cardinals an easy victory.
Just before the midway point of the second half, midfielder Katherine Skrivan '06 found the back of the net off an assist from first-year forward Kira Stephanoff-Dargery. The rookie's first collegiate assist cut the Wesleyan lead to two. Minutes later, off a penalty corner, Skrivan found forward Rachel Carr-Harris '07, who drove the ball past the Wesleyan goalie to make it a one-goal game.
Unfortunately, Amherst did not manage to find the back of the goal again. Mook tallied once more for Wesleyan in the final minute of the game to bring the final score to 4-2. Goalies K.C. Cosentino '05 and Kathleen Boucher '08 split time for Amherst and collected three saves apiece.
Despite the loss, Amherst was pleased with its play. "We made a good comeback," said senior co-captain defender Alicia Pichard. "It showed a lot of heart and a really concentrated effort on everyone's part to not give up when down 3-0 in the second half. Although we didn't beat Wesleyan, I think the second half gave us good momentum going into Sunday's game."
The Amherst team of the second half on Saturday came out to play at Conn. Play was even through regulation, with Conn. outshooting Amherst 14-10. With the score locked at 0-0, the game entered the first 15-minute sudden-death overtime period. Nearly 11 minutes elapsed before Skrivan ended the marathon off Carr-Harris' seventh assist of the season. Cosentino picked up her eighth career shutout and collected 11 saves. The victory marked Amherst's first road win of the year.
Head Coach Carol Knerr was very pleased with the win and the players' performance. "Once we were able to relax and do the basics well, we started to gain confidence and dominate the play," said Knerr. "K.C. [Cosentino] played a solid game in the goal cage. And Katherine Skrivan and Rachel Carr-Harris did a great job executing a two-on-one in overtime to score the game winning goal."
Senior co-captain defender Emma Feinstein '05 was happy with the determination she saw in her team on Sunday. "We all understood going into the game what an important game it was for us and because of it we all gave it 100 percent the whole time," said Feinstein. "It took going into overtime to actually get one in the cage, but we dug in for the whole game and did not stop until we got it there."
Added Pichard, "We dominated most of the game today and were successful in playing our game and not letting them dictate the pace of the game. Overtime is always stressful, but we were very composed and just played our game, which ended with the ball in the back of their cage." Both captains agreed that the win provided much-needed momentum going into the end of the regular season.
Amherst faces Williams College on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. in the Jeffs' final regular-season game. The game also marks the final home game for Amherst's six seniors. A win against Williams would secure the Jeffs a spot in the NESCAC Tournament.
"I think it'll be a great game with everyone playing their hardest and really leaving it all out there on the field," said Pichard. "This game is always intense and could go either way."
Right now, Amherst is ranked seventh in the NESCAC out of 10 teams. The top seven teams qualify for the postseason tournament. If the Jeffs beat the Ephs, who are currently fourth in the league with a 5-3 conference record, Amherst will have a guaranteed spot in the postseason. However, if Amherst loses and Bates College defeats Colby College, the Jeffs will still earn the final spot in the tournament.
Amherst hopes it won't come down to a Colby loss.
"We are going to give Williams a run for their money," said Feinstein.