The two games couldn't have been more different. Saturday's 5-1 loss, played on Springfield College's turf due to the rainy weather, wasn't much of a game. Williams scored five goals in a hurry to end the first half up 5-0, led by 2005 NESCAC Rookie of the Year Meighan McGowan.
Despite the disheartening score at the half, the Jeffs started the second energized, determined not to be shut out. Their hard work paid off when first-year forward Christina Hopkins scored ten minutes in to put Amherst on the board. But, while the goal may have symbolized a small moral victory, it didn't change the final outcome. The loss dropped the Jeffs to 7-7, but Weselyan University's loss to Bowdoin College kept Amherst at sixth place in the conference. Meanwhile, Williams took the third-seed in the NESCAC Tournament, setting up a rematch on Sunday.
Instead of trying to pretend that Saturday's game had never happened, Amherst chose to use the game as motivation. "Our coach kept saying, 'It is hard to beat a team twice,' and I think the loss on Saturday actually worked to our advantage because Williams wasn't expecting us to put up such a fight on Sunday," said junior goalie Kathleen Boucher. Sophomore midfielder Alyssa Dudzik added, "We didn't play our best on Saturday so I think Williams may have taken [Sunday's] game lightly." Not only did they learn from their mistakes, but the Jeffs were also able to carry over the momentum they gained from Saturday's second half, when they had outscored Williams 1-0.
This time, instead of ending the first-half in a five-goal hole, Amherst held the Ephs scoreless in the first frame. According to Boucher, the main difference was that, "We blocked out their best player [McGowan]. We also did a great job of marking up and playing aggressive defense everywhere on the field."
The second half began much like the first; Williams again outshot the Jeffs, this time by a 5-1 count, and also shut them out in penalty corner shots. But Amherst was able to find the net before it was too late. With 2:25 remaining in the game, first-year forward Molly Malloy punched the winner home, off of an assist from junior forward Christa Porcaro. "When the ball came across the field, I knew it was coming to me," said Malloy. "Christa made a great pass so it wasn't very hard to one time the shot, and the left corner of the net was wide open."
In the frenzied final two minutes of the game, Amherst successfully fended off Williams' best offensive efforts to secure the win and a spot in the NESCAC Final Four.
In the players' eyes, the immediate improvement is a credit mostly to the defense. "Our defense started with our forwards and continued strongly in the midfield, where we denied their go-to options to their fast, skilled forwards," said senior co-captain defender Amy Watson. "When they did get through the midfield into our defensive circle, we organized our defense quickly and efficiently and everyone played a part in that."
In addition to containing McGowan as a team, however, Boucher played a large role in shutting down the Ephs. "She came up clutch with some big, timely saves and took some of the pressure of the defense," said Dudzik. "She really stepped up for us when it counted."
The Jeffs now have this week to prepare for their next opponent, Bowdoin College, whom they will meet Saturday in Brunswick, Me. The Polar Bears entered the tournament as the number one seed, with a 13-1 record overall and an 8-1 NESCAC mark. The last time these two teams met on Sept. 30, the game went into overtime. Though the Polar Bears came away victorious, the Jeffs held a 2-0 lead for much of the game. "We played well against Bowdoin and lost a tight game," said Dudzik. "I'm confident that Bowdoin is beatable and that we can win."
NESCAC Notes
Of the three games played on Sunday, only the Amherst-Williams one ended in an upset. Second-seeded Middlebury beat seventh-seeded Wesleyan 3-2 and fourth-seeded Tufts came out on top of fifth-seeded Trinity, 2-1.