Like last weekend's game at Williams College, Amherst kept their opponent off the board in the first half. Entering the game, the Jeffs' professed goal was to limit the number of corner shots Bowdoin had over the course of the 70 minutes of game time. "The first two goals scored in the first game against Bowdoin came off of penalty corners," said junior goalie Kathleen Boucher of Amherst's 3-2 overtime loss to Bowdoin in the regular season.
In that sense, the Jeffs were successful: Bowdoin's only goal, scored with 19 minutes remaining in the second half, did not come off a corner shot.
Unfortunately, shutting down the Polar Bears' penalty corners was not enough to pull off the win. Though the first half ended knotted at zero, sophomore midfielder Alyssa Dudzik said that it was pretty clear that "overall, Bowdoin controlled the game."
Even so, to end the first thirty-five minutes tied was a positive in the eyes of the players. "It was obvious to all of us that we were not playing our best at all," said Dudzik. "So we felt pretty good that we kept it at a tie with the number five team in the nation without playing our best." Boucher agreed. "We didn't want to give up because we knew that all we needed was one goal, and like in the first-round playoff win over Williams, that goal might not come until the last minute or two, so we had to keep playing strong, aggressive defense," she said.
Coming out of the half-time huddle, the Jeffs looked to take advantage of the fact that Bowdoin had not yet pulled away. "We've learned, as a team, to not be satisfied with a tie," explained Dudzik. "So we really wanted to go out strong in the second half and get on the board as quickly as possible." Their good intentions, however, were all for naught, as neither team scored for the first 15 minutes of the second half and the Jeffs continued their offensive futility, unable to even get a shot on goal.
Eventually, the Polar Bears were able to find the cage, as sophomore Lindsay McNamara knocked one of her game-high six shots home for her 14th goal of the season. "There was a scramble and the ball ended up going to a Bowdoin player, who was able to tip the ball around me to their best player, [McNamara], who was wide open behind me," said Boucher.
Dudzik expressed frustration that the few seconds of "commotion in front of the goal" ended up deciding the game. "Our defense played excellent all game and it's a shame that this tiny lapse happened to cost us a goal." She also credited Boucher, who allowed a total of one goal in her two playoff games, with making "a lot of tough saves" and really keeping the Jeffs in the game.
As would be expected, there was a lot of emotion from the Jeffs after the final whistle. The players found themselves proud and disappointed all at once, sad to see the seniors go but cherishing the time they'd spent with them. "We came very far as a team," asserted Dudzik. "I'm very proud of how we ended our season, but losses to end a season are always very tough. We lost to a very talented team, ranked top five in the country and one that has lost two games in the last two years; so while there is no shame in losing to Bowdoin, a loss like that still stings."
For the first time in over two months, the team doesn't have another game for which to prepare. Instead, they'll say goodbye to their two seniors, co-captains Amy Watson and Rachel Carr-Harris, all the while holding on to the important lessons learned over the course of their 2006 campaign. Most importantly, said Dudzik, "We finally learned how to win, and learned to expect to win. Amherst field hockey has a very bright future ahead."
NESCAC Notes
Second-seeded Middlebury advanced to Sunday's conference finals after beating Tufts University 4-1, only to fall to Bowdoin College by a score of 1-0. It was the Polar Bears' second consecutive title.