Amherst came out strong against Williams. Play moved quickly from one end of the field to the other in the first few minutes, and Williams managed to get a few shots off against Amherst goalie K.C. Cosentino '05. After the first 15 minutes of the game had passed, it was clear that Amherst had the upper hand. Amherst forced the Ephs to play in their defensive half while the Jeffs skillfully passed around the Williams defense and quickly regained the ball after turnovers. Unfortunately, the Jeffs could not capitalize, getting off just one shot despite their offensive pressure.
Amherst had no problem carrying its strong effort into the second half. The Jeffs upped the pressure on Ephs goalie Wendy Stone, tallying eight shots while Williams only posted five. After intense activity in the Williams scoring circle, the Jeffs finally knocked in a goal. At the 28:25 mark, midfielder Rachel Carr-Harris '07 scored on an assist from forward Katherine Skrivan '06. The goal was Carr-Harris' third tally of the season.
Amherst continued to pressure the Williams defense. However, only six minutes later, Eph Cathleen Clark's unassisted goal brought the game back to a tie.
On several close occasions it looked like Amherst would regain the lead. Shots from Skrivan, Carr-Harris and midfielders Carolyn Shea '08 and Erin O'Hare '06 almost found the back of the net, nearly breaking the tie. Regulation ended with the game tied at 1-1.
Great defensive play in both halves by co-captains Alicia Pichard '05 and Emma Feinstein '05 and sophomores Maggie Roth and Amy Watson prevented Williams from possessing the ball for extended periods of time. Pichard came up big numerous times in the Amherst circle and frequently teamed up with Shea and Roth to force the Ephs to give up the ball before crossing over the defensive 25-yard line. Shea played a solid game, connecting the ball from the low defense into the Amherst attacking area.
Amherst went into overtime ready to shut Williams down. Since the game format changes from 11 v. 11 to 7 v. 7 in overtime, the Jeffs were at an advantage because the rule catered to their strong passing attack. Forward Erin Leydon '05 carried the ball upfield on the left side for the Jeffs while working with Carr-Harris and Skrivan in the middle. Pichard played solidly in back behind them.
With the Jeffs tired after 13 minutes of overtime, Eph Tara Boyd found a path down the field through the Jeff defense and brought the ball into the Amherst circle. Before Amherst had completely recovered, Williams' Susan Shea found the back of the net, ending the game at 2-1.
In the typical vein of strange twists that add yet more contention to the storied rivalry, Shea is the twin sister of Jeff starter Carolyn Shea.
Goalie K.C. Cosentino had an impressive 15 saves for the Jeffs, bring her total saves for the season to a noteworthy 81.
The loss was especially hard for Amherst after having played such a strong game. "Williams was one of our best games of the season-it finally seemed like everything was clicking and working right," said Pichard. "We scored first and dominated most of the first half. We've had trouble this season coming out as strong as we can in the beginning of games, but that wasn't an issue yesterday because we were fired up and ready to go from the first whistle."
Shea agreed with Pichard about the team's quality of play. "It was our best game of the season because we played together with skill and with intensity," she said. "Williams came out strong in the first couple minutes, but we played our passing game and very quickly had them playing on the defensive. They weren't able to attack as strongly because our defense stopped their big hits and kept possession for us. We had them for a good part of the game; they just snuck that goal by us in overtime."
Amherst concluded its regular season with a 5-8 overall record and a 3-6 NESCAC record. Before the game, Amherst was ranked seventh in the NESCAC out of 10 teams, and would have qualified for the final seed in the playoffs with a victory.
Because of the loss to Williams, Amherst's spot in the tournament rested on the outcome of the Bates College versus Colby College game. A Colby loss would have put the Jeffs in the tournament. However, the White Mules came up with a 4-1 victory over Bates and took the seventh seed in the playoff tournament. They proceeded to upset second-seeded Bowdoin College, 1-0, on Sunday.
The Jeffs were disappointed with their loss to Williams and about not making it to the postseason. However, the performance they showed against Williams on Saturday was representative of the determination, positive mindset and fighting spirit the team kept with them all season, win or lose.