In the home opener against NESCAC foe Bates College on Saturday, the women’s soccer team put on a show for its fans, tallying seven goals and recording its first shutout of the season. The Jeffs moved to 2-1 on the season and remained undefeated in the conference, making them one of only three teams in the league with a perfect record.
The Jeffs poured on the pressure from the first whistle. Just over two minutes into the game, midfielder Kathy Nolan ’10 found the back of the net off of a sharp cross from senior midfielder Stephanie Yesnik. Amherst connected for three more goals in the first frame to take a 4-0 lead into halftime.
“In practice last week we worked on capitalizing on our finishing opportunities, particularly on set pieces and crosses from our flanks,” said quad-captain defender Kate Moriarty ’09. “We came into the match this weekend with a ‘need-to-score’ mentality, which contributed greatly to our offensive success.”
The second half featured more dominant play from the Amherst squad, allowing Head Coach Jen Hughes to give nearly everyone some playing time. Amherst played pretty soccer—passing to feet, constantly switching the field and exhibiting impressive creativity and one-touch flicks on attack. The Jeffs also proved to be the physically dominant team, as they won the vast majority of 50-50 balls and tackled the ball away from its opponent with ease.
Amherst notched three more goals in the second half, including Moriarty’s first collegiate goal, which she rocketed into the net off of a free kick from nearly 30 yards out. Midfielder Meg Murphy ’10 added a goal and an assist to keep her atop the Jeffs’ statistical board. The Jeffs outshot Bates 30-4, and ball possession was similarly lopsided, with Amherst maintaining possession for a large majority of the game.
“Our intensity and work ethic in practice this past week set the tone for the game,” said goalkeeper Lili Ferguson ’10. “The most important thing was that we came out and dominated right from the kick-off and put together a full 90 minutes so that Bates had no chance to get any momentum. They were on their heels the whole game, which allowed us to play ours.”
Despite some stellar individual performances—sophomore midfielder Jackie Hirsch was commended by her teammates for her hard work and constant energy—the true success was Amherst’s teamwork and chemistry on the field. Seven different players scored for the Jeffs, and all but two goals were assisted.
The Jeffs will look to maintain their solid play and improve on the weaker aspects of their game in preparation for their upcoming matches against Springfield and Wheaton Colleges. And despite the lopsided score, there are a few areas of play that clearly need improvement. For instance, though rookie forward Jill Kochanek headed in a beautiful corner kick, it was the only one of the Jeffs’ 12 corners that was converted to a goal.
“Two of the next three games are against regionally ranked teams who we lost to last season,” noted Moriarty. “These matches will be critical in building our team’s confidence both on and off the field.”
The Amherst players must also be careful not to become overconfident. Though the Jeffs have two solid wins under their belts, every game brings a new foe with a different style of play.
“We’re going to take one game at a time and focus on each opponent,” said Ferguson. “As we keep winning and people start to give us more credit, we’re in danger of underestimating teams. To avoid that, we’ll focus on our game and playing our best, regardless of who is across the field or what our supposed rankings are.”