After pulling off a huge upset against defending NCAA champion Bowdoin College last weekend, Amherst field hockey looked to stir up the national rankings once more by taking on last year’s national runner-up Tufts University. Unfortunately, the Jeffs were frustrated in their efforts to continue their winning streak. Amherst — currently ranked 16th nationally — fell 2-0 to the second-ranked Jumbos as the team suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday.
As a testament to their resilience and talent, however, the Jeffs recovered quickly by claiming a 3-2 win over NESCAC rival Bates College the next day. Sophomore forward Christine Cantore scored the game-winning goal late in the second half to propel the team to victory.
“Although we are obviously upset about the loss against Tufts, the team held its head high and kept fighting through the rest of the weekend,” said senior tri-captain Haley Douds. “The team cannot wait to get their second shot at Tufts in the postseason and hopefully come out on top when it really matters, when championship titles are at stake.”
In Saturday’s match, the visiting Jeffs had an uneasy start against the Jumbos. Tufts launched an aggressive campaign in the first half of the match, outshooting the Jeffs 12-1 and tallying seven penalty corners. Capitalizing on a penalty-corner opportunity, Tess Guttadauro scored the first goal for Tufts with little more than 15 minutes left in the period. In addition to their fierce offense, the Jumbos presented a formidable defense and limited the Jeffs to just one shot in the opening half.
“We proved to be less successful in the Tufts game because we let them control the tempo and played their game instead of our own. They played in a formation we were unfamiliar with, and unfortunately we did not adjust quickly enough to turn the game around,” said Cantore ’12.
Amherst returned to the second half recharged and closed in on Tufts’ strike zone. The Jeffs, however, were unable to net an equalizer. Goalkeeper Emily Vitale tried to keep Amherst in the game, making eleven saves throughout the match, but Guttadauro added an insurance goal with less than three minutes to play and gave Tufts a final score of 2-0.
The Jeffs treated the home crowd to an action-packed match on Sunday against NESCAC competitor Bates College. Early in the first half, Douds ’10 helped Amherst gain a serious advantage by netting a pair of goals. After chasing down a loose ball at the opponent’s end of the field, Douds knocked in her first goal with the Bates goalkeeper pulled out of position.
The second goal happened less than two minutes later. Douds received a pass from junior midfielder Carly Leahy and outwitted McEnroe of Bates to strike the back of the net once more.
Eighteen minutes into the opening period, the Bobcats responded with a goal of their own. Sema Kazarian of Bates teamed up with Morgan Maciewicz to sneak a shot past Vitale and narrowed Amherst’s lead to 2-1.
The Jeffs remained relentless and came back with a third goal before the first half drew to a close. Douds ’10 passed the ball to Sarah McCarrick ’12, who took a shot aimed at the far post. Cantore ’11, quick on the uptake, dove to redirect the shot and helped Amherst post a score of 3-1 at the break.
Even though the Bobcats turned up the pressure by scoring a second goal in the final half, the Jeffs maintained their lead to claim the win. Amherst field hockey improved their overall record to 3-1 (2-1 NESCAC) and returns to compete on Wednesday night against Springfield College.