Momentum; it's an intangible necessity for any successful sports team. It's not just a win-streak or a sense a swagger; it's the ability of a team to take what they've encountered and use it to find a way to win any game.

The Jeffs had a good deal of momentum in the second half of the 2006 season. While it ended in a NESCAC semi-final loss to eventual NESCAC Champion Bowdoin College, the Jeffs posted a five-game win streak and an impressive defeat of a tough Williams College squad in the NESCAC quarterfinals. The Jeffs channeled that momentum coming into their 2007 campaign. Now that they are heading into the tail end of the 2007 season, they aim to regain that same momentum for the final charge into the postseason.

Despite the losses of talented seniors Amy Watson and Rachel Carr-Harris, the Jeffs have retained every other starter and a core of players who saw considerable playing time. Leading the way are senior tri-captains Lauren Benson, Kathleen Boucher and Christa Porcaro. After a preseason trip to Europe where the Jeffs played a host of talented club teams, Amherst was ready for the 2007 campaign.

The Jeffs picked up where they left off in 2006 against Trinity College, earning their first win in overtime, off the stick of defensive mainstay Catherine Calvert '09. The Jeffs' leading scorer from the previous season, forward Molly Malloy '10, and midfielder Alyssa Dudzik '09 each notched goals. The duo combined for four goals in the next game, as the team steam-rolled Smith College 5-1.

The Jeffs did not fare as well in their next two bouts, dropping a 5-4 offensive fire-fight to Bates College and then a 1-0 overtime loss to Springfield College.

"The Springfield game was one of our best games so far," said Porcaro. "The outcome was not in our favor, but sometimes that is just the luck of the game."

But the axe cuts both ways, and the Jeffs took the loss Springfield handed to them and passed it on to Tufts University. The Jeffs played the entire game with their backs against the wall; getting out-shot 19-3, and taking only one penalty corner to the Tufts' 22. They eked out a win by the score of 2-1 against a strong Jumbo team. The momentum carried into the next game against Mount Holyoke College, as the Jeffs trounced the Lyons 5-0 in what seemed more a lesson in field hockey than a game.

At 4-2 (2-1 NESCAC) the Jeffs squared off against their toughest opponent of the year to date: NESCAC powerhouse Bowdoin College, ranked first in the nation. The Jeffs stormed out of the gates, limiting play to Bowdoin's half of the field for the first 10 minutes, and forcing the Polar Bears to call a time out. Play evened out the remainder of the game, with each team posting a slew of near goals. However, neither squad could find the back of the cage in regulation.

The Jeffs pushed Bowdoin to one overtime session, and then another, being the first and only team to do so this season. Nevertheless, in a loss reminiscent of the Springfield game, Bowdoin managed to score first. Though the loss stung, the Jeffs were encouraged by their ability to compete with the top-ranked team in the nation. Said Dudzik of the loss, "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."

After the tough loss, the Jeffs blew off some steam at the expense of Western New England College, burying the Golden Bears 5-0.

But Amherst's momentum seemed to stall after that. The Jeffs lacked their typical intensity in the following game against Middlebury College. Despite controlling the corners game 15-2 and out-shooting Middlebury 9-2, Amherst could not find a way to win. The Jeffs let in a goal at the end of the first half, and that lone tally stood for the rest of the game.

Amherst's lackluster play continued the following week. In a non-conference game against Babson College, the Jeffs managed to squeak by with a 1-0 win off a goal by forward Haley Douds '10. However, Amherst's intensity from the beginning of the season was missing once again, and carried over to the weekend.

The Jeffs traveled to Waterville, Me. to face Colby College, who had yet to secure a NESCAC win. Again, Amherst couldn't find a way to get it done, and the Jeffs fell to the White Mules 1-0.

Now the Jeffs are staring at the rest of the season with a 6-5 (2-4 NESCAC) record. In the three remaining conference games the Jeffs will face Wesleyan University and Connecticut College at home before going to battle against Williams in the final match of the regular season. And they have two options: "We can either come out and go through the motions, as if we were a mediocre team, or we can play our game and win," said Porcaro.

Statistically, Amherst is holding its own in the conference: fourth in goals scored and goals against average. Malloy and Douds are both in the top 20 players in the league in scoring. Defender Tierney Healey '10 leads the league in defensive saves with four. Nevertheless, a stat that most of this 2007 team is this: no loss has been by more than a single goal.

Around the league, Bowdoin sits atop, still undefeated at 11-0 (6-0 NESCAC). The rest of the standings, however, are not very certain. Each team has either two or three conference games remaining, and the current rankings are apt to change. While the Jeffs are in seventh place right now, their quality of play at the beginning of the season and their close one-goal losses give them confidence that they can move up.

"I think the team is somewhat frustrated after the past few games, as we should be," said Porcaro. "We all keep thinking about that one last shot or how close we could have come if we had just pushed that extra inch. We can not settle with being a mediocre team and we realize this after playing Middlebury. Now is the time to turn it around."