Lacrosse can be a game of streaks and momentum. The team that sets the tone of the game tends to have the upper hand. Analogously, the women’s lacrosse team started the season at a breakneck pace, looking to make a statement. Momentum was on Amherst’s side as the Jeffs rattled off eight straight wins and were ranked eighth in the country by the insidelacrosse.com poll. On Saturday, that win streak was halted with a loss at then seventh-ranked Middlebury College. With five regular season games remaining, and four of them conference tilts, the Jeffs are hoping to put this bump in the road behind them and resume their torrid pace.
Amherst has faced some tough opponents in the past two weeks. Following their Spring Break slate, the Jeffs traveled to Babson College for a battle between two top-10 and unbeaten teams. Next up was a trio of NESCAC foes. Connecticut College brought a four-game winning streak (including an upset over then 14th-ranked Tufts University) to Amherst. The Jeffs then went on the road to play the only other teams with unblemished conference records, Trinity College and Middlebury. Amherst posted convincing wins over Babson and Trinity (12-8 and 9-6, respectively), needed overtime to beat Conn. 9-8, and lost to Middlebury 14-3.
In each of the last four games, setting the tone of the game was important, as noted by the players. A string of six consecutive goals in the first half for Amherst gave the Jeffs the advantage over Babson.
“[The Beavers] were really pumped up and so were we, but we came out of the gate a little faster, so to speak,” said tri-captain goalie Linda McEvoy ’08. “We really found a way to get under their skin early and that’s what helped us hold on for the solid win.”
“We just got out there and right from the start played our game,” declared sophomore midfielder Hannah Walker. “Babson was not about to dictate our play.”
That spark, however, was absent from the Conn. game.
“We knew that it would be a win to work for, especially after their success over Tufts, but I don’t think we were ready for that much intensity,” Walker recalled. “We were allowing Conn. to control the ball.”
“The combination of them coming off four straight confidence-building wins and us coming in really off and slowly, made the game a lot closer [than anticipated],” explained McEvoy. “We learned that we have to set the tone early in order to win big.”
The Jeffs seemed to take that lesson to heart against Trinity. “After Conn. we knew we had to come out strong to set the tone of the game,” said midfielder Kathleen Scheld ’10. “We were in control the whole time. We out-hustled and outplayed them, and I think that’s what ultimately gave us the ‘W’.”
“Like we did for the Babson game, we came out strong and ready to fight,” added tri-captain attacker Maddie Hoeg ’08.
With Middlebury as their opponent, however, the Jeffs let the Panthers dictate the pace of the game.
“Middlebury came out ready to play,” Walker said. “We had a difficult time reacting to their aggressiveness and definitely backed off in our play.”
“I think our team came out a little flat, and you can’t do that against a good team,” remarked Scheld.
“We did not start the game with the intensity that we brought to the games at Babson and Trinity,” mentioned Hoeg. “We dug ourselves a large hole in the first half and had tremendous difficulty getting out in the second half.”
While their record has taken a hit with the loss to Middlebury, it’s not something the Jeffs want to dwell on. Instead, they are looking to charge forward with the rest of their season, starting with a game at archrival Williams College on Saturday. “As of right now, we’ve put the loss behind us, taken it as a learning experience, and are now looking forward to playing Williams on Saturday,” said Walker.
Amherst is tied with Trinity for second place in the conference with a 4-1 NESCAC record. The Ephs have lost their last five games, with the last four being NESCAC contests, and sit in ninth place in the conference. However, just two weeks ago Williams was ranked 13th in the country, and is not a team to be taken lightly. The Jeffs’ strategy on Saturday will be crucial to the outcome of the game, and perhaps even beyond.
“I think the way we play in that game will set the tone for the rest of the season,” said Scheld. “We can’t let this one loss [to Middlebury] define the rest of our season. Just because we lost one game does not mean our momentum is gone. We are a strong team, and I am confident that we will be able to bounce back and be even better than we were before.”