The seventh-ranked Amherst squad gave up a measly eight goals and picked up its first two conference wins of the season this week.
On Saturday, Amherst held host Wesleyan University to three goals-the smallest number of goals allowed by an Amherst squad since the Jeffs trounced Springfield College 14-2 back in 2004. Meanwhile, the Jeff attackers tallied six scores, defeating their Little Three rival, despite nasty playing conditions.
"The weather was definitely 'interesting.' It was raining when we got there, they delayed the game for a few minutes while [Head Coach] Chris [Paradis] and the referees and the Wesleyan coach walked the fields and jumped in puddles," said sophomore goalie Linda McEvoy. "But then we played, and it started to hail with about five minutes remaining in the first half. It probably only hailed for 10 minutes, but then it went back to rain. It rained the whole way through, and was a pretty dirty game because of that-I think we all fell at least once!"
The unfavorable weather conditions may have contributed to the low-scoring nature of the game. "It was wet and the ground was so sloppy that the footing was not allowing for a lot of dynamic movement and cutting through the eight meter," explained junior defender Emery Sweeney. "Also, our hands were so cold that catching became a problem; consequently, the right feeding plays were there, but we had to rely more on plays in which attackers were taking the ball one on one to goal, so scoring became very difficult."
Even though both teams only combined for nine goals-the Jeffs scored at least nine goals in each of their first four games-Amherst did what it took to pull out the win. Junior attacker Dana Kuper got the Jeffs on board with two goals in the first half, scoring off assists from first-year attackers Mary Noonan and Amy Craig, respectively. Cardinal Schuyler Swenson even the score with two tallies of her own, but that was as close as Wesleyan could get. Amherst responded with three straight goals to put the game out of reach. Attacker Alyssa Briody '07 notched her team-leading 16th and 17th goals of the season, while Noonan added an unassisted score. Noonan completed a three-point outing by feeding junior midfielder Lauren Dudley with 31 seconds left in the game.
The Wesleyan squad encountered a bit more difficulty than the weather, namely Amherst's solid defense. In the 60-minute game, there was a 41:35 span in which Amherst held the Cardinals scoreless.
Defenders Maggie Roth '07 and tri-captain Laura Brown '06 each hauled in four ground balls. The stifling Jeff defense and midfield caused eight turnovers during the game. "The defensive effort put forth by the team this week was really awesome. It was not due to the efforts of the low defense alone but the entire team as a whole starting with our low homes and through the midfield," said Sweeney. "The whole team is really fighting to get the ball back after a turnover or a lost draw resulting in more midfield turnovers and fewer attacking possessions for our opponents. I think that if we can keep doing as well as we are doing defensively, it puts us in good shape for other teams we will be facing in the coming weeks."
Amherst put up another strong defensive effort earlier in the week at Trinity College. McEvoy was outstanding in goal, stopping nine shots, including seven free position attempts. Defender Rachel Lewis '07 picked up four ground balls as the Jeffs held off the Bantams, 8-5.
Leading the way offensively were Briody, Noonan and Dudley with two goals apiece. Craig added a goal and an assist while midfielder Liz Wise '07 added a tally of her own. Amherst held on to a 5-2 lead at the half, and traded goals with Trinity in the second to reach the final mark. Despite peppering the Bantam goalie with 26 shots, only eight went in, which is rather surprising for Amherst's talented attack.
This season, 13 different Jeffs have found the back of the net, proving that there are plenty of people to pick up the slack if things aren't going the right way. "The depth of the team has been really great," said Sweeney. "We have been rotating players through the midfield in every game, and, as a result, there are fresh legs on the field every 10 minutes or so. This has worked very well for us, especially against teams with a short bench or less depth, whom we can usually tire out in the midfield and come up with the ground balls crucial to locking the win, as was the case in the Trinity game."
Amherst will use its red-hot defense to tire out some more opponents in a three-game home stand after playing three away games. "I'm not sure playing away affects us negatively-we've traditionally put up equally good fights away as we have at home-but I think that playing at home does give us a little boost of having our friends and family present, and having the comfort of our own field and pregame stuff," said McEvoy.
The Jeffs' next game is Thursday at 4:30 at home against Connecticut College.
NESCAC Notes
In a huge upset, Tufts University beat Bowdoin College on Tuesday. Bowdoin then lost to NESCAC powerhouse Middlebury College by a score of 15-6 on Saturday. The Polar Bears have been the only team able to best the Jeffs so far this season, and it looked like they would use that momentum to storm ahead in the conference standings. However, Bowdoin's two NESCAC losses this week puts them in fifth place, behind Amherst and Tufts who are tied for third. If Amherst wins out the rest of their NESCAC slate-including games against Middlebury and Tufts-the Jeffs will be the top seed for the conference tournament.