The field hockey team improved its record to 2-2 this past weekend, as it defeated NESCAC opponent Bates College in its first home conference game of the season. In 2007, the Jeffs lost to the Bobcats in a 5-4 heartbreaker on the road. The team got its revenge on Saturday with a 3-1 victory, building their confidence and improving their conference standing.
“This was a huge game for us,” said sophomore forward Liz Schink. “Last season we felt like we lost a lot of really big games by a very small margin. We basically sat down and said, ‘Let’s win a big game for once.’”
Senior forward Caki Guinee started off the scoring for the Jeffs, notching her third goal in two games to put Amherst ahead 1-0 at the end of the first half. Though happy to have a lead going into the second half, the Jeffs recognized that improvements would have to be made if the team wanted to maintain and build on its lead.
“In the first half we were making a lot of unnecessary work for ourselves,” noted Schink. “Bates was there every time we looked up to pass.”
The Bobcats retaliated against the Jeffs’ lead and found the back of the net just four minutes into the second half. As the Amherst defense scrambled to clear the ball, a Bobcat forward found an opening and struck the ball past Amherst goalkeeper Emily Vitale ’12. The goal served as a wake-up call for the Jeffs, and they managed to keep possession for most of the remaining time. Finally, with 20 minutes left in the game, junior forward Haley Douds connected on a cross pass from Schink to net the go-ahead goal for the Jeffs. Tri-captain midfielder Alyssa Dudzik rounded out the Amherst scoring, as she capitalized on some fantastic passing by her teammates and slid the ball past the Bates goalie.
“The team is happy with the win,” said defender Tierney Healey ’10. “But we know that we’re going to have to improve some aspects of our play for future games.”
Schink continues her offensive firepower, totaling four goals and two assists to lead the Lord Jeffs in total points. As a team, Amherst outshot Bates 15-5 and tallied 10 penalty corners more than the Bobcats.
Though pleased with the win, the Jeffs know they have some tough games in their future. This week, Amherst will take on Springfield College and defending national champion Bowdoin College, both of which are among the top 10 teams in the nation. The Jeffs will have to play consistently well for the entire 70 minutes in order to come away victorious in their upcoming games.
Though the Jeffs played well for the majority of the match against Bates, at times—especially in the first half—their passing looked a little shaky.
“In preparation for our games against Springfield and Bowdoin, we will continue to perfect our passing skills and our accuracy in executing corners,” said Healey. “We will continue to follow our motto for the season, which is to take one day at a time.”
In 2007, the Jeffs fell to Bowdoin—then the second-ranked team in the nation—by a score of 1-0 in double overtime. Amherst knows that they can play with the best when they play their game, and they will need to do just that as they travel to Springfield and Maine.
“We need to be confident and play together,” Dudzik said of the team’s upcoming games. “During part of the Bates game I think we got caught up in playing their game, and this week we need to make sure we play our game.”