The climbing will have to wait. The Jeffs remain in the number-five spot as they suffered their second setback of the season: a heartbreaking 13-12 loss.
The outcome of the game was certainly not decided in the first three minutes, however, as Amherst jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals by sophomore attackers Chris Hofmann and Derek Cherney. Amherst then matched each of the Panthers' next two scores to keep the game in favor of the purple and white.
Then, trouble began with just over five minutes remaining in the first quarter. Middlebury knocked in six unanswered goals in a streak that stretched until 1:10 remained in the first half. At that point, Cherney notched his third unassisted goal of the game during a man-up opportunity. Attacker Andrew Syfu '05 scored, also unassisted, with three seconds left in the frame to give the Jeffs a little momentum at the break.
Middlebury opened the scoring in the third quarter, but Amherst answered back with a Hofmann goal. The Panthers struck again, but the Jeffs countered with a man-up goal by Cherney. Finally, Hofmann converted a Cherney feed at the end of the third to cut the Jeffs' deficit to one.
The scoring pattern of the final quarter began exactly as in the previous stanza; Amherst countered two Middlebury tallies with unassisted goals by Cherney and attacker Alex Casertano '05. Then Syfu knotted the score at 12 with 2:12 remaining in regulation.
With 1:18 left on the clock, however, Middlebury netted its 13th goal of the game. At 37 seconds to go, the Jeffs were awarded a man-up opportunity but were unable to cash in.
Senior tri-captain goalie Cushing Donelan made 15 saves in the loss, and long-stick midfielder Andrew Wilcox '06 bolstered the defense with a game-high 11 ground balls.
Despite the negative outcome, the Jeffs consider the game a positive experience. "The Middlebury game was extremely exciting and fun to play in," said Cherney. "Our offense played very well, and it was encouraging that we hung with and had a great opportunity to beat a top-tier team. That being said, we need to be able to win these close games against top-level teams if we want to go far this year."
The team looks forward to getting retribution against Middlebury in the NESCAC Tournament. "At 12-12 with two minutes left I really thought we were going to win," said Castertano. "I still want to beat Middlebury, and I believe that we can in the postseason."
Even though the Jeffs had trouble with their NESCAC foe this week, Amherst won a pair of non-conference games against Western New England and Endicott Colleges. At WNEC last Wednesday, the Jeffs set a fast pace and held an 8-3 lead at the half, but let WNEC notch six second-half tallies. Cherney and Casertano led the attack with two and three goals, respectively, while seniors Josh Cherney, Bryan Hiller and tri-captain Colby Griffith, junior Sean Murray and first-year Will Ferrer each lit the scoreboard in the 10-9 Amherst victory.
On Monday, the Jeffs creamed Endicott, 14-4, in Amherst's home opener. Cherney again led the offense posting six goals in the rout. Overall, the Jeffs were phenomenal, scoring 12 times before Endicott got one in. Syfu went 8-12 in face-offs and grabbed four ground balls. Donelan only let in one goal in 45 minutes. The last quarter featured the Jeff reserves, including goalie Raul Altreche '06, who made five saves.
The non-conference success gave the Jeffs a boost, and they are looking forward to an intense match-up against Wesleyan University on Saturday. "With the bulk of our NESCAC schedule remaining, we still have a great opportunity to earn a high seed in the NESCAC Tournament," said Cherney. "The victory over Endicott gives us some very good momentum going into Wesleyan this weekend."
The Jeffs will face the Cardinals on Hitchcock Field at 1 p.m.