While remaining undefeated on its home turf, the field hockey team suffered its second loss of the season this Saturday against Connecticut College. The Jeffs were able to tame the Springfield College Pride at home to post a 5-2 victory, but Amherst could not overtake Conn. College on the road. The Camels’ defense helped them outlast the Jeffs for a 2-1 win.
Against Springfield, tri-captain Haley Douds ’10 helped set the pace by putting the Jeffs on the scoreboard only two minutes into the first half. Douds knocked in the first goal of the match with an assist from senior forward Molly Malloy. Sophomore Sarah McCarrick followed up with a second goal for Amherst with a penalty stroke. Although the Pride tried to close the score gap with their first goal at 27:28, midfielder Carly Dudzik ’12 netted the third goal for the Jeffs with another assist from Malloy and gave Amherst a 3-1 lead before the opening half ended.
The Jeffs cruised through the second half of the match. Forward Katie McMahon ’13 and Dudzik ’12 tallied two more goals for Amherst to lock Springfield out of the match, defeating the Pride for the first time in five years.
“When we are at home, our excitement is unmatched,” said Chrissy Cantore ’12. “We are able to do all of our traditional routines without any modifications, and the thrill of playing at home causes us to play as hard as we can. So far this year, we have given our all at every home game because we pride ourselves on delivering the best performance possible when we’re on our turf.”
On Saturday, the Jeffs traveled to New London, Conn., to face NESCAC competitor Conn. College. The first half resulted in a stalemate with the teams tied at 1-1. Kelsey Nickerson of the Camels scored at 20:30 by capitalizing on a penalty corner. And just three minutes later, McCarrick ’12 beat the Camels’ goalkeeper Steph Quinn on a penalty stroke to score the equalizer for the Jeffs.
Although the Jeffs stepped up their offense in the second half — outshooting their opponents by 11 to two — they could not overwhelm the Camels’ defense. Amherst had a great scoring opportunity when Douds aimed a shot with 7:55 left on the clock, but Quinn made an impressive stop to thwart the Jeffs’ chances of overtaking the Camels. Conn. College succeeded in one of their last efforts to score at 2:48, when Abby Hine executed a tricky turn-around shot for the game-winning goal.
Despite the disappointing loss, the Jeffs hope to continue their winning streak at home and improve their current overall record of 4-2 (2-2 NESCAC).
“We have had some ups and downs thus far, but we have such a strong team dynamic that I think we will pull through just fine. We still have a lot to prove out on the field and I see no reason why we cannot accomplish our goals,” said Douds ’10.
Fellow tri-captain Tierney Healey added, “We have had a successful season so far, and we are looking to continue our success every day. We are excited for the games to come and are hoping to have two wins this week — against Mt. Holyoke on Wednesday and Williams on Saturday.”