The men’s soccer team fell to 1-2-0 in the NESCAC after the Bowdoin Polar Bears upset the Lord Jeffs, 4-2, this past Saturday. The Polar Bears played their best game of the season to date ending their three-game losing streak. Though the Jeffs seemed unable to find their rhythm Saturday, they began to turn things around last night when they nabbed an overtime win against Springfield College, 1-0.
In last Saturday’s match, Amherst seemed to be in control at first, scoring the first goal of the game. The Polar Bears, however, responded with three goals before halftime to take the lead, which they never let go.
At the 20 minute mark, senior midfielder/forward Nick Lynch drew first blood for the Jeffs, with a goal from the left corner of the box. Three minutes later, Bowdoin junior Will Alden-Dunn placed a skillful shot over the head of the Jeffs’ senior goalkeeper Jeff Grover to tie up the game. Grover had two saves in the loss. At 38:45, a missed shot by Bowdoin first-year Eddie Jones rebounded off the crossbar to classmate Nick Powell, who scored his first collegiate goal and gave Bowdoin the lead for good. Jones then assisted Bowdoin forward Sean Bishop ’12 with a pass that led to a header, putting the Polar Bears up 3-1.
With less than 20 minutes remaining, Amherst trimmed Bowdoin’s lead to one after senior tri-captain forward Jake Duker scored on a header off of a pass by Lynch. However, Bowdoin junior Hugh Fleming sealed the game two minutes later with the game’s final goal.
“Bowdoin did a great job this weekend,” said the Jeffs’ Head Coach Justin Serpone. “The NESCAC is the best [Div. III] league in the country for men’s soccer, and Bowdoin has been one of the strongest teams in the league for a long time. If they [had] play[ed] their best and we [had] play[ed] our best, it would have been a great game. Unfortunately, we didn’t bring our best, and if you don’t bring your best up in Brunswick, you’re not going to have much success.”
The loss to the Polar Bears is the just the third NESCAC loss the Jeffs have had in the past two years. With two early NESCAC losses, things look grim for the Jeffs this season. However, Serpone is confident that his team can regroup with just a little old-fashioned hard work.
“When you fail, if it means something to you, it hurts,” stated Serpone. “I don’t think anyone is happy [about the losses], but at the same time, the important thing is that we’re better in October than we were in September. We’re going to try our best and redouble our efforts to do just that. We’ll come together. I believe in our players, I believe in our coaching staff, and I believe in the vision we have for our program. Nothing in life that’s worth pursuing comes easy.”
Trying to bounce back from the NESCAC loss, the Jeffs rallied at home field for a crucial overtime victory against Springfield College, 1-0. Duker scored the game-winning goal with just five minutes left in overtime. First-year goalkeeper Leonard Kovacs also earned his first shutout of his fledgling career.
The Jeffs can now focus on capitalizing upon Tuesday’s win and start turning things around in the NESCAC. Next Saturday at home against Tufts, Amherst is will look to make a comeback.
“It was a disappointing result against Bowdoin, but we are determined to get back on track,” said midfielder Joe Addison ’09. “The nice thing about NESCAC is that you play quality teams every week and Tufts is no exception. We are going to work hard in training this week and leave it all on the pitch on Saturday.”