During Wednesday’s game against Bridgewater State, the Jeffs rushed into a quick lead when junior Ian Rothkopf scored the first goal of the game. The game sped into action quickly with another score by Rothkopf with an assist from senior Chris Devine. These early moves set the tone for an action-packed first half.
In the second half of the game, the Bears attempted to come back with a goal by Chris Swindell. The Jeffs struggled to score again in the second half, but failed in the attempt. However, the team fought hard to maintain the lead against the Bears. Players like Casey McNamara ’13 and Rothkopf were fierce in their attempts to ensure a win for the Jeffs. With less than four minutes left on the clock, the Bears made a valiant effort to score another goal. With a near hit, goalie Lennard Kovacs ’12 blocked the shot to secure the Amherst victory.
With the entire team standing on their feet combined with encouraging shouts of “Let’s go Amherst!” from the stands, the team had the necessary support to pull through. Despite the slowed performance in the second half of the game, the team maintained its lead. Fans noticed the effort of the entire Jeffs contingent as well as the talent of its newest players.
Indeed, there are some promising first-years on the team who have already begun to shine. Spencer Noon ’13 was named the NESCAC’s Player of the Week on Sept. 14 after the victory against Bowdoin College and, in Saturday’s game against Tufts, Noon scored the first goal early on with an assist from co-captain Matt Lewis ’10. Nearing the end of the first half of the game, fellow rookie Jelani Rooks ’13 scored the second goal of the game with an assist from Robert Gooden ’13.
In the final half, the Jeffs scored two more goals, one of which was scored by Gooden. With a final score of 4-0, Head Coach Justin Serpone was pleased with his team’s play.
“The win over Tufts was a great team victory,” said Serpone. “The team needed to respond to not playing well on Wednesday and we did.” Despite the poor performance in Wednesday’s second half, the Jeffs were able to make a comeback and maintain an undefeated record.
The first-years on the team were not the only players standing out. Junior Chris Linsmayer stepped up and put a goal in for the team in the second half of the game with the assistance of Gooden. Lewis also stepped up and pulled the team through to a victory in Saturday’s game. Serpone credited Lewis with some of the team’s success.
“The team limited Tufts to only three shots, and Matt was a big part of that,” said Serpone. “His communication and positioning were perfect all game long.”
The team has had a great start, but has a long road to travel. As long as they maintain the high level of communication and work on consistency throughout the games, this second-ranked team could make it to the top. The focus now is Conn. College, who defeated the Jeffs last year. With the massive fan base at Conn. College and a good NESCAC, the Jeffs have hurdles ahead of them in the upcoming games.