Despite their underdog status, the Jeffs came out strong, penetrating Middlebury territory early and often during the first 30 minutes of play.
“I think we came out very confident despite the result at the beginning of this year,” said rookie goalkeeper Lennard Kovacs ’12. “This was a key factor in our win, because if you go out and are intimidated of the fact that you are playing the defending national champion, you have already made a step towards a loss. The mindset was to just go out and play our, not their, soccer.”
Familiar names were at the top of the Jeffs’ score sheet with leading scorers quad-captain Jake Duker ’09 and Jae Heo ’12 each adding a goal to their season totals in the win. Duker’s goal came in the 15th minute off an assist from midfielder Nick Lynch ’09, who leads the Jeffs in assists. But Duker wasn’t finished, tallying an assist of his own just four minutes later: Lynch again crossed the ball to Duker, who took another shot that rebounded off the post. Fortunately for the Jeffs, the rebound came to Heo, who put it in the net for the 2-0 lead. The second goal made Amherst the first team this season to score two goals against the Panthers.
In the final 15 minutes of the first half, the Panthers tried to make a comeback, rallying a brief offensive surge. The Jeffs’ defense was in full force that day, however, stifling many of Middlebury’s offensive opportunities. Kovacs stopped the shots that sneaked past the defenders, saving one and deflecting another over the crossbar.
Despite numerous opportunities, Middlebury was unable to break through against the Amherst defense. Between the 68th and 71st minutes alone, the Panthers had five corner kicks and one direct kick, but none significantly challenged the Jeffs’ goalie. The shutout, Kovac’s fifth of the season, was hardly unusual for the rookie; he allowed no goals in the NESCAC Tournament, posting shutouts against Wesleyan University, Trinity College and, most notably, Middlebury College.
Head Coach Justin Serpone was “proud beyond words” of the team’s accomplishment, acknowledging the significance of both the historic win for the program and the defeat of the team’s two-year nemesis. Though many of the faces in the game were holdovers from last season’s championship loss to the Panthers, Amherst benefited from the presence of rookies Kovacs and Heo. Above all, however, Serpone credited the seniors — both last year’s and this year’s for the win.
“Even though we weren’t successful in winning a NESCAC championship a year ago, last years’ team — especially the seniors — laid the foundation for [Sunday’s] win,” said Serpone. “This championship didn’t involve just the 11 players on the field, it involved the whole Amherst soccer ‘family,’ from players, to coaches, to trainers, to department staff, to alums. It was a total team effort.”
“Clearly, we were helped by the first-year players we had on the field, but today’s championship belongs to the seniors,” he continued. “What a career they have had. I’ve thought about what it would feel like to celebrate a championship with this year’s senior class for the last year … I can’t believe it came true. I’m so happy for them.”
While a NESCAC championship certainly gives cause for celebration, there is no rest for the weary. The win gave Amherst an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Jeffs are confident they can continue their hot streak. “As long as we trust in our game and keep playing our soccer, we will have our chance,” claimed Kovacs. “But because we beat the defending national champion does not automatically mean that we will have an easy ride. We have to keep in mind that it will be a long and hard fight.”
“The NCAA Tournament is a season in itself,” Serpone added. “It’s a series of one-game seasons. I don’t put any value into how we’ve done up to this point as being an indicator for what happens next. Hopefully, as a staff, we’ve prepared our players to be a ‘tournament team.’ We’ll find out soon enough. For 24 hours, though, we’re going to enjoy this championship, then it’s back to work.”