The first game on a chilly Wednesday afternoon resulted in a 2-1 final score, numbers secured even before the first half concluded. The visiting team, Gordon College, met the Lord Jeffs on Hitchcock Field Wednesday with a record of 2-2-0, having played three more games than the Jeffs, who were at 0-0-1. However, the slight difference did not deter the Jeffs from bringing their best, as within five minutes of the start of the game sophomore Casey McNamara crossed the ball into space for his classmate Spencer Noon, who put away the goal. A 1-0 lead five minutes into the game, and the Lord Jeffs were not done yet.
About mid-way through the first half the Flying Scots did equalize the score off the head of their senior co-captain, Matt Horth. However, the status quo did not hold for very long. Within 10 minutes, Amherst had once again gained the advantage, this time on a shot by senior captain Ian Rothkopf. The remainder of the game consisted of the team holding tight to their one shot advantage by maintaining a 21-5 edge in shots to Gordon.
Friday’s game had quite a different ending. Facing off against NESCAC competitor Tufts in another home game, the Jeffs pushed hard. The first goal was scored with just 20 minutes remaining in the second half by Tufts. Never disheartened, the Jeffs turned it around quickly and within two minutes of the Tufts goal, Amherst senior Thebe Tsatsimpe scored one of his own. The teams each struggled to get a go-ahead goal through the remaining time, with the game ending in a draw, despite the Jeffs’ 17-7 margin in shots.
All of those missed opportunities on Friday found their way onto the field in Sunday’s game, a 7-0 shutout against Saint Joseph’s College in Maine. The barrage started 10 minutes into the game as the Lord Jeffs scored their first goal, and then the goals came in bunches. White and purple jerseys dominated the field as the team racked up four goals by the 25th minute. Rothkopf led off the frenzy, followed by McNamara and Noon and finally new recruit Julien Aoyama, who was credited his first collegiate goal.
Forty minutes passed before sophomore Federico Sucre, junior Chris Linsmayer and McNamara scored.
Head coach Justin Serpone enthusiastically claimed: “We’ve still got a long way to go. I was glad to see that we scored some goals on Sunday, but more importantly it seemed as though we did a better job of playing ‘Amherst Soccer’… We’re only eight days into our season and the best is still to come.”
Coming off the successful match, the Lord Jeffs will not play another game until this coming Saturday, Sept. 25 against Connecticut College.
“Conn. College has beaten us the past two years, and outplayed us in 2007,” coach Serpone continued. “Last year they dismantled us 4-1 in New London. We need to have a good week of training so that we can do our best on Saturday against a strong opponent. The league is razor thin this year so every game counts more than ever.”
In spite of a record unblemished by losses, this week was one of mixed results. As coach Serpone said, “I could easily say that this guy played well, or that guy needs to improve, but at the end of the day, soccer is a team sport and we win and lose as a team.”