“Winning big this weekend was huge for our confidence and giving us momentum going into the round of 16. It’s been a while since we’ve won by such a large margin, and I think it’s a nice reminder of how dangerous we are on offense,” said quad-captain midfielder Natalie Ferraiolo ’09.
It took just over six minutes of play to take the lead against FSU when sophomore midfielder Jackie Hirsch converted on a pass from first-year forward Livia Rizzo. Although Amherst controlled play for the rest of the frame and out-shot its opponents 16-1, the half ended with the Jeffs leading narrowly 1-0.
The second half displayed more of the same Amherst domination as the first — the Jeffs needed only 17 minutes to record another goal. Newly crowned NESCAC Player of the Year Meg Murphy ’10 put the Jeffs up 2-0 with a nicely-placed direct free kick that was just out of the reach of the opposing goalkeeper. Rizzo and midfielder Cami Farkas ’10 rounded out the scoring for the Jeffs.
Fresh off a victory, Amherst prepared for a rematch with Springfield. Once again, Amherst struck early. Hirsch — well-known for her hustle — was able to capitalize on a rebound off of the Pride goalkeeper to give Amherst the lead with just over five minutes gone in the match. Hirsch wasn’t finished yet, recording two more goals in the first half. Although the Jeffs were scoreless in the second half, Hirsch’s hat trick in the previous period gave Amherst a 3-0 win.
“Jackie was so effective this weekend because she was very active and positioned herself really well,” explained midfielder Kyla Woodhouse ’11. “She brings a lot on offensive because she is so active and quick. She had great composure in front of the net and was able to finish on the opportunities.”
Amherst played excellent soccer this weekend, passing the ball well and being especially creative on offense. The number of goals bodes well for the Jeffs’ future in the NCAA Tournament, where goals are hard to come by.
“We didn’t want to come out on our heels like we had in the past, so we went into the game with an attacking mentality. We were able to get numbers in the box and our opponents just could not handle it,” said Murphy of her team’s effort.
Reaching the Final Four has always been Amherst’s goal for the season and never has it looked more manageable. Still, the Jeffs will have to continue to play their brand of soccer. They will be very hard to beat if they can continue to win 50/50 balls and penetrate the opposing defense with passes.
“I think now we’re just going to have to work that much harder in our upcoming games,” said Woodhouse. “We’ve obviously shown that we’re very threatening offensively ... and that our defense is strong as well, so I think other teams will be out for us. Anything can happen in the tournament, so we’ll just have to be prepared to fight and play our game. That’s all we can do.”