This past week the men’s lacrosse team played two games of an eight game intra-conference run. Hoping to improve upon their NESCAC record of 1-1, the men approached the week with a sense of urgency; it’s no secret that most of their competition is to be found within the conference, so each of these matches is of crucial importance. Unfortunately, the men could not muster a win in either match, losing to both Trinity and Middlebury Colleges.
Their first test came last Wednesday against I-91 foe Trinity College. The game was played at Gooding Field in front of an eager Amherst crowd, yet, despite the support, the men could not manage a victory. The Jeffs fell 6-4 to make it their third loss in the past four games.
Amherst opened the game on an auspicious note, scoring two goals in the first five minutes of play. Both were slotted by junior mid-fielder Tim Thornton, to bring his season tally to eight. Trinity responded promptly with two goals of their own to tie the game, before Amherst’s senior tri-captain Thomas Jackson scored one of his own to regain the lead, 3-2.
Amherst’s fortunes turned quickly with the second quarter’s opening whistle, as Trinity exploded offensively, scoring four unanswered goals to assume a solid 6-3 lead. Amherst responded with a man-up goal late in the game, but could not muster what was needed. Despite out-shooting Trinity in the game’s final three quarters, 27-20, Amherst’s efforts proved useless, and the game ended with a final score of 6-4.
The men closed out the week this past Saturday with a home game against Middlebury. In a match that initially looked like it was shaping up to be a blow-out, the men mounted a valiant late-game comeback, coming within one goal of a tie. Ultimately, however, the men lost steam and fell 15-13 to the fifth-ranked Panthers.
The undefeated Middlebury squad was the first to score in Saturday’s volatile competition. Excepting a couple reprisals in each of the game’s first two quarters, Middlebury dominated the score tables, building a lead of 10-4 by the half. After the half, a sense of urgency seemed to overtake the Jeffs, and the goals began to come with more ease.
“We had a disappointing first half,” said midfielder Jelani Lundy-Harris ’09, “but we were able to show what kind of team we really were in the second half. We hope we will be able to take the momentum from that comeback and use it against other NESCAC teams.”
Amherst outscored Middlebury in both of the game’s remaining quarters, even posting six in the fourth. But in the end, Amherst did little more than nip at the heels of their opponents. “We came out flat,” said junior attackman Thomas Foote, as he commented on the outcome of the match. “We thought we were going to be in for a long day, but in the second half we showed ourselves capable of playing at the level we need to compete with top teams in the NESCAC.”
Despite coming within one goal of tying in the fourth quarter, the Jeffs could not find the equalizer. Notable performances came from senior tri-captains Will Ferrer and Thomas Jackson, and sophomore star-lit Tom McDonnell, all of whom scored hat-tricks in the match.