At the midpoint of its 2007 run, the field hockey team had a week of mixed results. The Jeffs decimated Mt. Holyoke College 5-0, but dropped a heartbreaking double-overtime barnburner to NESCAC powerhouse and nationally ranked number two Bowdoin College, who remains undefeated. Last night the Jeffs got back to their winning ways with a 5-0 victory over Western New England College. Now just over halfway through the season, the Jeffs' record stands at 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the NESCAC, putting them right in the scrum for playoff position.
On Wednesday the Jeffs took a short trip down the road to make quick work of Mt. Holyoke. Just 10 minutes into the game, sophomore points leader Molly Malloy poked a goal in off of a deflected shot by midfielder Alyssa Dudzik '09. Despite this early strike, the Lyons didn't roll over. Attacking the net with a flurry of corners with 10 minutes remaining in the stanza, Mt. Holyoke held the Jeffs to just the one goal until the halftime whistle.
Just a minute into the second half, Mt. Holyoke nearly came through on the equalizer, cracking a shot off the post. Amherst responded. Senior tri-captain forward Christa Porcaro immediately put the biscuit in the basket for her second goal of the year. She followed up the effort with a surgical cross to sophomore forward Haley Douds who similarly found the back of the net with a potent one-timer for her third goal of the season. The Lyons refused to fade, making several more attempts on the cage, each to be turned away by the impermeable defensive wall of Catherine Calvert '09, Tierney Healey '10, Rachel Egan '11 and tri-captain Lauren Benson '08.
Before the game's end Amherst connected twice more, with shots coming off the sticks of Douds and Porcaro for their fourth and third goals of the year, respectively. "I do think we were the more skilled team but Mt. Holyoke is always very aggressive and athletic so we just focused on playing our game instead of getting caught up in theirs," said Dudzik.
Saturday, and the dedication of Gooding Field, brought with it the undefeated and nationally ranked Bowdoin Polar Bears, last year's NESCAC champions. The Jeffs stormed out of the gates, keeping the ball on Bowdoin's half and forcing the Polar Bears to call a timeout only 10 minutes into the game. Dudzik remarked, "This was the first time all season that we came out strong and continued to play like that the whole game."
After the timeout, Bowdoin woke up and possession times evened out. However play was not stagnated; both teams made attempts near the goal that could have easily gone in. The entire team played well, but the defense played a particularly stunning game against a strong Bowdoin offense.
At the end of regulation, the score remained knotted at 0-0. Amherst became the first team this year to push Bowdoin into overtime. The first stanza of 7-on-7 play had just as many nauseatingly near goals as regulation. In the second overtime period, Bowdoin found the back of the net with 8:46 remaining.
"We definitely had opportunities to win that game and although we didn't get the outcome we would have liked, now we know we can compete with anyone," said Dudzik.
The loss to Bowdoin leaves the Jeffs at fifth in the NESCAC with a conference record of 2-2. Arch rival Williams College sports a similar record. Both teams stand in line for the pole position behind Bowdoin, Tufts, Middlebury and Trinity, the latter three with one loss each. Bowdoin maintains its unblemished record.
Amherst will look to carry its momentum from the blowout against WNEC into a crucial NESCAC matchup against Middlebury at home on Saturday.