This weekend the men's soccer team confirmed the predictions of many, beginning the 2007 season with two thrilling victories. With a strong performance on Saturday against Trinity College and on Sunday against Eastern Connecticut State University, the men have proven that the preseason hype was justified. Both games were close, hard-fought and exciting, but the scores, both 2-1, belie the Jeffs' statistical dominance.
The Jeffs couldn't have asked for a hotter or hazier day to begin their season. The heat on Saturday was simply unbearable, even for those on the sidelines. Weather aside, the game was a joy to watch. A surprisingly competitive Trinity team took the field with a great amount of energy and gave the Jeffs some stiff competition, coming within inches of scoring when a shot slipped by keeper Jeff Grover '09 only to be stopped at the goal line by senior tri-captain Ryan O'Donnell. Both teams went into the second half scoreless.
Amherst had strong possession throughout the second half and, save for a few Trinity counterattacks, kept the ball firmly in the Bantams end. According to junior striker Jake Duker, "the defense is playing great," a point supported by Trinity's limited attack time.
The first goal of the game didn't come until 24 minutes into the second half when a ball was played into power striker Ryan Conti '11 and dished off to midfielder Rob Denious '10. Denious, with plenty of space to prepare a shot, stepped further into the box and ripped a low shot into the left corner of the goal, just beating the outstretched keeper.
Trinity answered back soon after with a header off of a corner-kick. The clock ticked down and the game headed to overtime. Early on in the overtime period, Amherst built an offensive down the left flank. O'Donnell was given possession and played an airborne ball to a fast-breaking Duker. With the ball still in the air and the goal keeper rushing out to challenge, Duker was able to get on the other end first and tap the ball over the keeper with professional composure. The sudden-death overtime period ended right there with Duker's elegantly finished game winner.
The following day, Amherst took the field against Eastern Connecticut State University. The weather was overcast and rainy, but both teams dealt with it nicely. This game, more so than the Trinity game, was heavily dominated by the Amherst side. Senior tri-captain Taylor Downs was robbed of goals three times in the first half's early minutes, one of which led to an auspicious corner. Nick Lynch '09 connected with O'Donnell for the first goal of the game. When asked about the goal O'Donnell added, "Nicky hit a rocket cross as he always does and that makes scoring goals off corner kicks much easier when you head a cross with so much pace."
The Warriors answered the Amherst goal with one of their own in the middle of the second half, making it seem likely that the Jeffs were going to have to settle for a frustrating draw. However, senior tri-captain John Kneeland was resolved not to let this happen. In the game's last seconds, Kneeland collected an ECSU clear and fired a shot from the top of the box past the keeper. Once again, a late match hero emerged to lead Amherst to victory.
On the heel of these two wins, Amherst looks to tune up for a game on Gooding Field, Amherst's new turf playing surface, this coming Thursday against Curry College. "I think the team worked really hard this weekend and while we didn't play our best, we're excited to get a pair of wins and build off of that. A lot of players played minutes and helped this weekend and they'll all get better as the year goes on," said O'Donnell. "It'll be important for us to improve on offense in order to generate more chances, and we're already preparing for Thursday's game against Curry."