The field hockey team hit the road last week, taking a ride down Route 9 to square off against Smith College on Wednesday, and then embarked on a substantially longer trip to Bates College for the second NESCAC contest of the year. The Jeffs emerged from the roadtrip 1-1, rolling over Smith 5-1, but dropping a fast-paced 5-4 decision to Bates. The Jeffs now stand at 2-1 (1-1 NESCAC).

In a 25-minute preseason scrimmage, the Jeffs had laid waste to Smith 4-0. The question going into the regular season match-up, therefore, was whether Smith's grass field would hinder Amherst's fast-paced play. For the first 10 minutes, despite steady possession of the ball, the Jeffs could not find the back of the net.

Fifteen minutes in, a long hit from the right side bounced off the stick of midfielder Carolyn Shea '08 to midfielder Alyssa Dudzik '09, who rocketed a shot past the Smith defense. Despite several other chances, the Jeffs went into the half up by a single score. Senior tri-captain forward Christa Porcaro said, "We played down to their level and were unable to finish on many scoring opportunities [in the first half]."

The Jeffs' scoring assault began promptly in the second half, with sophomore forwards Haley Douds (pictured) and Molly Malloy each notching tallies within the first five minutes. "Once we scored our second goal, we were loose and confident and that helped our play continue to improve throughout the half," said Head Coach Carol Knerr.

Indeed, before the game was over, both Dudzik and Malloy found the back of the net again. Smith eventually managed a goal late in the second half, finalizing the score at 5-1 in favor the Jeffs. By game's end, the Jeffs had rifled off 19 shots to Smith's four and taken 14 penalty corners to Smith's two.

With the tougher drive came a tougher opponent in the Bates Bobcats, who edged out the Jeffs last year in a 3-2, double-overtime heartbreaker. Though both teams had several good chances in the first half, Amherst controlled the ball for the better part of the stanza.

Despite their possession, the Jeffs headed into half time with the score knotted up at 1-1. In a progression very reminiscent of the Smith game, the Jeffs put one up on the scoreboard just four minutes after the halftime whistle, this time on a penalty stroke by junior defender Catherine Calvert.

Despite all signs of things going their way, the Jeffs found themselves reeling after three Bates goals in the span of three and a half minutes, leaving the score 4-2 in favor of the Bobcats.

Malloy cut the deficit by one with just under 20 minutes remaining in the half, only to have Bates match her goal with one of its own eight minutes later. Not to be one-upped, Malloy netted another goal a minute later off an assist from Douds, bringing her team-leading goal total to five. Despite the best efforts of the Jeffs, the score remained 5-4 until the closing whistle.

"There were a lot of positives from this game," said Knerr. "We had great ball movement and some beautifully executed goals. Our forwards made the effort to play defense, which gave us more scoring opportunities. We learned that you have to take control of opportunities to gain momentum and put a team away when you have the chance."

As the season progresses, the Jeffs are getting more confident playing with each other. "I think at this point in the season we're starting to really learn how each other plays and now we know where our teammates will be when we have the ball," said Dudzik. "Everyone played with great heart and intensity [Saturday], which we can't teach."

Amherst returns to action under the lights tonight at 7:00 with a non-conference game against Springfield College.