Although Amherst field hockey earned a solid 3-1 victory against Mt. Holyoke College on Wednesday, the Jeffs were unable to continue their winning momentum through the weekend. Ranked 17th nationally, Amherst suffered its first defeat on home turf to NESCAC rival Williams College.
Forward tri-captain Haley Douds ’10 led the Jeffs in the match against Mt. Holyoke by netting the first goal 15 minutes into the opening half. By making the assist, forward tri-captain Molly Malloy ’10 also helped put Amherst on the scoreboard. Malloy passed the ball to her fellow tri-captain from the right side of the strike zone, and Douds was perfectly placed to knock her shot past the goal line.
“In the Mt. Holyoke game, we did not really pull it together until the second half,” said junior forward Liz Schink. “The effort was there, but we needed to calm down and play our game. In the second half, we began playing using possession passes and finding open space instead of just drilling the ball into the other team.”
In the second half, the Jeffs picked up the pace against the Lyons. Malloy ’10 weaved her way through the opponents’ defense and capitalized on a rebound to score the second goal for Amherst. Malloy scooped up a loose ball and flipped her shot over the goalkeeper’s shoulder at 55:44. Not three minutes later, she received a short pass from Schink ’11 and drove her shot past the Lyons goalkeeper to increase the Jeffs’ lead to 3-0.
“Although the first half of the Mt. Holyoke game was pretty slow, we definitely stepped it up in the second half and worked on our ability to play as a team,” said Douds. “We had good stick to stick passing and great passing patterns all over the field.”
Under the constant barrage of shots from Amherst, the Lyons were unable to create many serious scoring opportunities. Mt. Holyoke’s goalie Katie Gibson was forced to make 15 saves throughout the match, compared to one save by Amherst’s goalkeeper Emily Vitale ’12. The Lyons scored their only goal on a penalty corner chance with less than two minutes on the clock — too late to turn the match around.
With renewed confidence, the Jeffs faced conference rival Williams College on Gooding Field on Saturday. The Ephs, however, were bent on winning and took a 1-0 lead early in the first half.
“The Williams game was a difficult one for us. Our coaches provided us with all of the skills we needed to go out and dominate. And we played a good game, but we just couldn’t seem to put the ball in the goal,” said Douds.
Amherst continued to pressure Williams in hopes of tying up the match before opening period ended, but the Jeffs seemed unable to capitalize on their seven penalty corners. In the last few minutes of the first half, Malloy finally broke through the Ephs’ defense with a long pass that forward Katie McMahon ’13 was able to chase down. McMahon’s shot, however, was blocked by the quick action of the Williams goalkeeper Katrina Tully.
In the middle of the second half, the Ephs experienced another dangerous moment. Defender Sarah McCarrick ’12 aimed a long shot at the Williams cage off of a penalty corner played by McMahon. McCarrick’s shot bounced off of the Eph goalie, and the Jeffs were denied another opportunity to tie the score.
Williams sneaked in its second goal with little more than 13 minutes left in the second half, increasing the Jeffs’ anxiety over the 2-0 score gap. Hoping to play an aggressive game up to the last minute, Amherst substituted in a forward for a defender with 10 minutes before the final whistle. Midfielder Carly Dudzik seized a chance for a breakaway goal but her shot unluckily bounded off the right post.
“The Williams game was frustrating because we were down in their end for the majority of the game but things did not quite click. Again, the effort was there but our passing and stick skills were sloppy. I think that it really came down to the little things, like missing scoring opportunities and losing composure with the ball. The Williams team capitalized on their opportunities and we could not seem to convert,” commented Schink on the loss against the Ephs. “However, we are extremely determined to figure things out and move forward coming off of our two recent NESCAC losses.”
The Jeffs maintain an overall record of 5-3 (2-3 NESCAC) so far this season and return to the field on Thursday night against Babson College.