In their first victory, several Jeff players were able to rack up points. The biggest standouts were senior tri-captain attacker Derek Cherney and sophomore attacker Brett Miller, each totaling four points in the contest. Attackers Tom McDonnell '10, and senior tri-captain Chris Hofmaan each scored a hat-trick to supply more than enough offense.
Also contributing to the offense was midfielder Tim Thornton '09 and attacker Thomas Foote '09 with a goal and assist each. The Jeffs outshot the Warriors 41-26, and sophomore goalie Matt Pietroforte secured the win by stopping 18 shots.
The Jeffs were unable to maintain their momentum, however losing 16-9 in a close game to St. Lawrence University. The Jeffs displayed character and perseverance at halftime when down 9-2. They scored seven goals in the second half, closing the deficit. Pietroforte and first-year Andrew Harrison split time in goal, making 11 and nine saves respectively. McDonnell scored two goals, bringing his point tally to five in three games. Foote and midfielders Matt Himler '09, Will Ferrer '08, JT Milone and tri-captain Rob Madden '07 each scored goals. "We are a very young team and we started to really gel in Florida," said Himler. "Although we had a tough loss to St. Lawrence we bounced back with a win over Bates, who we lost to last year. We will only get better as the season goes on and we expect nothing less than a NESCAC Championship."
In their NESCAC opener, the Jeffs narrowly defeated NESCAC rival Bates College 7-6 at UMass. Amherst was up 6-3 at halftime, but the Bobcats narrowed the gap in the second half. Nevertheless, the Jeffs were sure to put the Bobcats away. Leading Amherst was Cherney who scored one goal and McDonnell who scored two back-to-back goals. Pietroforte made 25 saves.
Yesterday, the Jeffs fell 7-5 to Skidmore College in a midweek non-conference match. Entering the match with an even record, the men were anxious to boost their record above .500. But even with a slew of goals from Hofmann, Milone, Miller, McDonnell and Cherney, the win narrowly escaped the Jeffs. Despite the loss, the team remains optimistic about its season. Reflecting this attitude, defender Franco Aguirre '10 said, "As Coach Wickwire puts it, 'There may be snow on the ground but there's fire in our hearts,' and that's what drives our team."
NESCAC Notes
Middlebury and Williams Colleges sit at the top of the conference standings, both 2-0. Amherst is tied for third with Trinity College and Tufts University, all of whom are 1-0 in NES-
CAC play in the young season.