With its performance this past week, the men's soccer team has continued to assert its dominance in Div. III soccer. Ranked fifth in the nation, according to an NCAA poll conducted Sept. 25, the team remains undefeated 7-0 as they approach the halfway point of the regular season.
Despite the relative ease with which the Jeffs defeated Bowdoin College on Saturday, Amherst struggled against Springfield College, giving all who were watching a scare as they just barely pulled out a victory. While they did concede an atypical three goals to the Pride, the Jeffs still maintained a cumulative goal margin of 7-3 on the week. This statistic seems noteworthy, but it is less impressive when one considers Amherst's 21-5 cumulative goal margin on the season. The Jeffs' offensive and defensive talent has been made apparent.
On Wednesday, the Jeffs traveled to Springfield to play a night game. The game was physical and the teams were closely matched, but in the end, Amherst came out on top. The victory was not easily achieved. In fact, the Jeffs were down for most of the first half until tri-captain midfielder Ryan O'Donnell '08 scored on a breakaway off of a skillful through-ball played by tri-captain midfielder John Kneeland '08. Riding the momentum of O'Donnell's goal, Amherst took its first lead of the game just before the end of the half when junior midfielder Joe Addison took advantage of a beautiful cross by forward Nick Lynch '09 to claim his first goal of the season.
The two teams battled evenly for the opening 10 minutes of the second half until Springfield struck back with a goal of its own. The goal was scored by midfielder Tony Distasio; it was his second of the game. The 2-2 tie was short lived, as star forward Jake Duker '09 scored his fourth goal of the season off of a cross from midfielder Mark Crane '10. Later in the half, the Jeffs took advantage of a penalty kick when midfielder Reid Wilson '10 was taken down in the box just two minutes after stepping on to the field. Kneeland converted the PK, extending the Jeffs' lead to 4-2.
With four minutes left in the match, Springfield attempted to mount a comeback with a third goal. The Jeff defense held strong and prevented Springfield from putting in the tying score. Amherst won the match by a close margin of 4-3, allowing the Pride more goals than any other team so far this season. "Springfield was a really good team. They had a good game plan: playing long balls to their forwards who all had very good pace," said Duker. "I thought that our team showed a great deal of resilience coming back from one-nil down away during a crazy night game. OD [O'Donnell] and Addison both scored beautiful goals."
To culminate Gooding Field's dedication day on Saturday, the Jeffs took on the Bowdoin Polar Bears. While Head Coach Justin Serpone had a bit to worry about after the team uncharacteristically surrender three goals to Springfield on Wednesday, the Jeffs rebounded to their typical greatness in the match against Bowdoin. There are always games during the season that have coaches questioning their team's resolve, and all one can hope for after such a match is a responsiveness like the Jeffs exhibited on Saturday.
The pressure was on as Saturday's match took place in front of a large crowd of eager spectators. Amherst icon Peter Gooding was, of course, among the crowd as his former team put forth a worthy performance. The Jeffs won the game 3-0 to claim their fourth shutout of the season.
It didn't take long for the Jeffs to begin their offensive onslaught-in the 12th minute, Amherst broke through with a Duker blast, and just minutes later came through again when junior defender Grayson Holland scored off of a short corner. Bowdoin regained its composure after the two-goal blitz and held the Jeffs scoreless for the remainder of the half. The Polar Bears sustained periodic offense, but their attempts were unsuccessful.
The second half brought more of the same as Bowdoin's defense met tough competition. In the final minutes, midfielder Reid Wilson '10 iced the game with his first collegiate goal and the game ended 3-0. "Bowdoin was a very good team," said Duker. "Our defense and goalie played exceptionally well. [Bowdoin's] best player, Figureido, was never a threat as our defense neutralized him by not giving him any time or space." Demonstrating the type of camaraderie that exists on this squad, Duker enthusiastically commended Wilson on his goal.
The men will continue their regular season campaign away against NESCAC opponent Connecticut College this Wednesday. On Saturday the Jeffs will look to take sole possession of first place in the conference as they are home on Hitchcock Field against also undefeated Middlebury College.