"These were our first games since we became ranked in the top 10," said tri-captain forward Kirsten Forsberg '07, "and we wanted to use this weekend to show what a skilled, composed team we have become, and we did just that."
Amherst traveled to Connecticut College on Friday for the last NESCAC game of the season. "We knew it was going to be a tough game against Conn. because at that point they were fighting to even make a playoff spot," said forward Anna MacLean '09. "Although the game wouldn't have affected our standings, we definitely didn't want to end our conference games with a loss."
Sophomore forward Lindsey Harrington put Amherst on the board at the end of the first period, with MacLean and forward Annie Morrow '10 drawing the assists. The Jeffs matched their first period total of 13 shots in the second, but were unable to score. Meanwhile, the Camels only managed two shots on goal, and first-year goalie Krystyn Elek was up for the challenge both times.
Harrington gave Amherst a cushion with her second goal of the night in the third period. This time Morrow and first-year defenseman Kirsten Dier provided the helpers. The shutout put Amherst's final conference record at 10-3-3; by far the team's best season against NESCAC teams.
The Jeffs were home for their regular season finale where the zamboni driver would have been wise to take a few extra laps around the Amherst offensive zone. Senior goalie Lindsay Grabowski faced only 12 shots en route to her 24th career win. Seven different Amherst players scored, and a total of 11 notched at least a point in the 8-1 rout of SUNY-Cortland. MacLean led the way, scoring Amherst's first and last goals and adding two assists for four points. Also finding the scorer's column was defenseman Kate Dennett '10, forward Natanya Khazzam '08, Dier, defenseman Katharine Kelly '08, Harrington and defenseman Rachel Simon '07. Amherst's eight goals were the most the team had scored in a game all season. "It is always fun to be able to score that many goals against a team, but sometimes those games are my least favorite," explained Forsberg. "When you are beating a team by that much it is incredibly tough to play with the same kind of intensity that you normally would."
Amherst has just one loss in its last 17 games, and closing out the regular season with two wins adds to the momentum the Jeffs will carry into the playoffs. "It is amazing to end the regular season on the note that we have, and I think it gives us a lot of confidence going into the postseason," said tri-captain forward Alena Harrison. "We are all just really excited at the opporunity that we have in front of us."
As the third seed, Amherst has earned the right to host sixth-seeded archrival Williams College in the NESCAC Quarterfinals at 4:00 on Saturday. "Whatever we have been doing so far seems to be working, so we probably won't change things up too much," said Forsberg. "I think if we play our game, we'll like the outcome on Saturday."
NESCAC Notes
Middlebury was undefeated in conference play and is the top seed in the tournament. Bowdoin College is the other team seeded above Amherst, while Hamilton College also hosts a first-round playoff game. Colby, Williams and Trinity Colleges round out the rest of the NESCAC Tournament field. The winners of the quarterfinal contests will travel to Middlebury for the semifinals and finals next weekend.