The then-undefeated Jeffs entered their Sept. 21 matchup with the Springfield Pride with more to prove than one might expect of a 3-0 squad. Along with a drubbing of local rival Smith College, Amherst had two NESCAC wins to its name, but the victories were over Trinity and Bates Colleges, neither of whom are perennial conference leaders. Springfield entered the contest ranked ninth in the nation with only one loss on its slate-to perennial NESCAC powerhouse and second-ranked Middlebury College.
Unfortunately, Amherst was unable to come away with the win, but the team did manage to demonstrate that it can hang tough with the best in the nation in a 1-0 overtime loss marked by stifling defense on both sides of the field. The Pride barely outshot the Jeffs with seven shots to Amherst's six, and it was of course the seventh that made all the difference.
In the first half, Springfield goalie Emma Kaplan was forced to make three saves while her Jeff counterpart, Kathleen Boucher '08, came up with one. Defender Lauren Benson '08 also got into the action with a defensive save of her own to keep the score tied up at 0-0 at the half. Notably, Amherst had seven penalty corners (a major scoring opportunity that allows the offense a 10-on-5 advantage) to Springfield's one in the period, but the Jeffs could not convert.
In the second half, defense was again the key word for both teams as both goalies turned away three shots to keep things all tied up. Midfielder Carolyn Shea '08 foiled the Pride time and again, and Springfield's Kaplan kept the Jeff offense frustrated. Senior tri-captains Katherine Skrivan, Erin O'Hare and Molly Gilbert put up three, one and one shots on the afternoon, respectively, but could not find the back of the cage. Sophomore midfielder Rachel Carr-Harris was also stymied by Kaplan on one occasion.
Seven-on-seven overtime rolled around, and the Jeffs controlled the ball in the Pride's defensive end for over seven minutes. However, a big Springfield clear found cherry-picker Sarah Brooker (who this week earned NEWMAC Player of the Week honors), and she banged the ball off Boucher's pads and put the rebound squarely in the cage to put the first mark in the Jeffs' loss column.
On Saturday, Amherst traveled to Medford, Mass., with one undefeated record still on the line; the Jeffs were 2-0 in conference play going into the game against Tufts. Unlike the previous week, when the Jeffs transitioned from turf to grass and back to turf seamlessly, the surface switch (Wednesday's home game was on grass) proved a little more difficult for the Jeffs to handle against the fleet-footed Jumbos. Though the final score read 3-0, the game was much closer than it appeared.
Tufts took advantage of Amherst's unease on the turf early, scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes and peppering the Amherst cage with 11 shots in the first half to Amherst's one.
"Tufts came out very strong from the start," said O'Hare. "We had a hard time playing our game and couldn't regain the composure that we had in our games against Trinity and Bates."
In the second half, the Jeffs were valiant in their comeback attempt but could not surmount the two-goal disadvantage. The Jeffs outshot the Jumbos 12-6 and both teams had seven penalty corners. Tufts goalie Marilyn Duffy-Cabana made five of her seven saves in the second half. A garbage goal with eight minutes left to play put the score at 3-0 and Amherst away for good.
"We need to learn from our mistakes in the Tufts game and bring our level of play as a team up another notch so we can be competitive with other teams in the NESCAC," said O'Hare.
And indeed, as Amherst proved against Springfield and in the first three games in the season, this is a team that can compete-and there is ample time in the season left to do so.
The Jeffs can take comfort in familiar surroundings for their next few contests. After a grass game this afternoon at nearby Mt. Holyoke College (the site of Amherst's preseason scrimmages), Amherst hosts Bowdoin College on Saturday followed by home games on Oct. 6 and 8 against Western New England College and Middlebury.
"We'll focus on our grass game this week, which will give us added confidence going into our games against Mt. Holyoke and Bowdoin," said O'Hare.