On Wednesday, Amherst started its scoring rampage early. Senior midfielder Jenny Muller and junior midfielder Heather Nowak connected twice in the first six minutes of the game to get the Jeffs on the scoreboard. On a corner kick three minutes in, Muller one-timed the ball into the goal off an assist from Nowak. Minutes later, on another corner kick, Nowak assisted Muller on another goal; this time Muller headed the ball past the goalie.
"We came out hard in the Mt. Holyoke game and put it away early. That's all we needed to do and we got it done," said co-captain goalie Piper Crowell '07. The Jeffs continued to play hard after going up 2-0 in six minutes. Ten minutes into the contest, co-captain forward Lesley Pruzansky '07 crossed the ball to sophomore midfielder Kathryn Bentley for Amherst's third goal of the game. Thirty seconds later, Nowak dished out her third assist of the game, this time to sophomore midfielder Natalie Ferraiolo, who one-timed the ball past the Lyon's keeper.
Amherst's attack on the Mt. Holyoke defense was not over. First-year forward Shannon Smith collected a great pass from Bentley, put some footwork moves on her defender, and found the back of the net. The goal was Smith's first of her college career. Amherst's final score was from sophomore forward Julia Cummings. Cummings headed in the ball off a long cross from Nowak, bringing the score to 6-0. Cummings's goal was her first of the season and the assist was Nowak's fourth of the game.
The second half of the game was played much more passively by Amherst, who put less serious pressure on the Mt. Holyoke defense. "[Our convincing lead] allowed us to work on some different formations and concentrate on some areas we need to work on," Crowell explained. Amherst took 14 shots in the game, 13 of which coming in the first half. In goal, Crowell collected one save, while first-year keeper Jen Greig stopped a shot as well. Goalie Lili Ferguson '10 also helped defend the net during the shutout.
With the first seed in the NESCAC Tournament, Amherst earned a bye in the first round and a spot in the semi-finals. This is the first time since 2003 that Amherst has made it to the semi-final round. During the past two years the Jeffs have suffered heartbreaking losses in the first round. As the first seed, Amherst will host the NESCAC semi-finals and championship for the first time in history. Amherst claimed the championship title for the first time in 2001 and did it again for the second time in 2003.
With no losses in conference games this season, the Jeffs are excited about their prospects in the tournament. "We are going to rock out in the tournament and make Amherst proud," said Nowak. "We love each other as a team and that makes us a much bigger impact than just all our talent individually."
"We're very happy with how the regular season went," added assistant coach Lyn Wojcik '06. "The season's been so much fun. I think it's in part because we've been successful, but we've also been successful because we're having fun. The players joke around a lot, but know when to be serious and focused as well."
Amherst will now focus on playing the lowest remaining seed in the tournament on Saturday, Nov. 4 at home. In the other semi-final game, fifth-seeded Colby College will face number three Middlebury College.
"If each player continues to choose to put in the effort, we have the potential to make this year very memorable," said Wojcik. "It's a big challenge, but it's very exciting." "Watch out!" added Nowak.
NESCAC Notes
Tufts University collected its sixth conference win on Saturday against Connecticut College, who was unable to pick up a conference victory this season. Bowdoin College's 4-2 win over Wesleyan University put them in a tie with Bates College for sixth place in the regular season. The Polar Bears took the sixth seed over the Bobcats based on a head-to-head match up ending 3-1.
Third-ranked Middlebury College topped Trinity College in its final regular season game 3-0. The NES-
CAC quarter-finals were played on Sunday. Seventh-ranked Bates College defeated Tufts 2-1 in overtime. Third-ranked Middlebury took down Bowdoin 3-1, and Colby beat Williams 2-1.