With two games remaining and the playoffs fast approaching, the men’s lacrosse team was dealt another blow last Saturday in a tough away loss to the Bowdoin College Polar Bears, 12-9. The loss drops the Jeffs’ overall record to a 7-6, 2-5 in the NESCAC, and one spot out of the current playoff picture.
Bowdoin started strong and didn’t look back, scoring the first three goals of the game and never trailing.
“You could tell when the game started that they were more mentally prepared than we were,” said Parker Holcomb ’11, who had one goal in the loss. “We came out really flat, which you can tell just by looking at the score since Bowdoin had the first three goals of the game, and spent most of the game reacting to their actions rather than taking control ourselves.”
The Jeffs’ closest margin came with two straight goals at the end of the first quarter by senior tri-captains T.J. Jackson and Will Ferrer to come within one.
However, Bowdoin retaliated hard and scored two more to extend the lead before Tom McDonnell ’10 scored off a pass from senior Chris Mottau to put Amherst on the scoreboard once again. The Jeffs ended the first half trailing 6-3.
Amherst stormed back in the third to take the first goal of the period with an unassisted score by Ferrer. The Jeffs stayed even with Bowdoin for the quarter, matching the Polar Bears’ three goals with three of their own, with goals added by Holcomb and J.T. Milone ’10. Nevertheless, the Polar Bears’ earlier momentum worked in their favor, as they held onto the lead to comfortably enter the fourth quarter up, 9-6.
Bowdoin tried to end the game early with back-to-back goals. With 9:40 remaining in the game, Milone scored again, briefly keeping the Jeffs’ hopes alive, but Bowdoin sealed the deal with a final goal at 8:32.
Senior tri-captain T.J. Jackson led the charge for the Jeffs, accounting for three goals. Fellow senior captain Ferrer and sophomore Milone were right behind him with two apiece. Junior goalie Matt Pietroforte made 13 saves in the game.
With Saturday’s loss, the Jeffs fell to eighth place in the NESCAC; since only the top seven teams advance to the playoffs, it left them on the outside looking in. The last two games of the season thus became even more crucial.
The Jeffs’ didn’t get much of a break before their next contest. Heading into the away game against the powerful Tufts Jumbos, the Jeffs knew that their playoff hopes hinged on the outcome.
“With the loss, our backs are against the wall,” commented tri-captain Chris Fitzpatrick ’09. “Beating Tufts is essential at this point, so we’ve spent a lot of time preparing for them. I think we understand our opponent, and hopefully that translates into a win for the Jeffs.”
However, the Jeffs suffered an 8-10 defeat against the Jumbos, with a record of 7-7 (2-6) going into their final game of the season.
The Jumbos scored the first two goals of the game, but the Jeffs quickly tied up the score at 2-2. The game stayed even until the final 46 seconds of the first quarter, when a Jumbo score gave Tufts the lead. In the second quarter, the Jeffs were outscored 4-1 to enter intermission with a four goal advantage, 7-3.
The Jumbos continued this momentum into the third quarter, owning three of the first four goals. The Jeffs would go on to score two in the quarter. In the final period, Amherst made a strong final push to hold the Jumbos to a scoreless period. Sophomore Tom McDonnell had two of his three goals in the fourth, to bring the Jeffs within two with 4:09 remaining, but the Jeffs ran out of time and fell, 10-8.
Although the outlook is bleak, the Jeffs’ playoff hopes are not yet dead. The Jeffs will finish out the season at home against bottom-ranked Colby College on the 26th. A win against Colby, in addition to losses by Williams and Bates in their final games, will give the Jeffs the seventh and final playoff berth.