AMHERST, Mass. -- There's something about the women's soccer rivalry between Amherst College and Tufts University that brings out late heroics. Last year, the Jeffs benefited from an 89th-minute goal from then-sophomore Hallison Putnam (Lexington, KY) from 40 yards out to take a 2-1 victory in Medford. This time around, the heroics came even later, and for the other team, as Tufts senior Sara Yeatman (Santa Monica, CA) finished a cross from rookie Jess Trombly (Nashua, NH) with 48 seconds remaining in regulation to give the visiting Jumbos a 2-1 victory over the Jeffs.
After a scoreless first half, the Jumbos came out of halftime mounting significant offensive pressure, led primarily by the duo of Trombly and Yeatman. It wasn't until after a wild 16-second span in the 67th-minute, however, that either offense would truly get going. The scoring spree began after a Tufts foul in the midfield, Amherst sophomore Kate Shipley (Newton, MA) sent a long free kick to the top of the 18, where junior Heather Govern (Beverly, MA) flicked a perfect ball to classmate Cathy Poor (Harwich Port, MA). Poor headed Govern's feed to the left of Tufts goalie Randee McArdle (East Nassau, NY), giving the Jeffs a 1-0 lead.
On the ensuing restart, however, Tufts answered right back. A long ball down the right wing found the foot of Jumbo sophomore Adie Sherwood (Woodinville, WA), who crossed a perfect ball into the middle of the box, where Trombly finished it past an outstretched Brooke Diamond (Longmeadow, MA). 16 seconds after Poor's league-leading ninth goal of the season, Tufts equalized.
Despite an onslaught of offensive opportunities for both teams after the two goals, the game seemed destined for overtime late, until the Jumbos broke through in the 90th minute. After their seventh corner kick of the day, Tufts worked the ball deep into the right corner to Trombly, who crossed it into the middle of the box. Yeatman, who scored the Jumbos' lone goal in a 2-1 loss to the Jeffs last year, finished the cross to put Tufts ahead for good with 48 seconds to go. The Jeffs had one late corner kick, but it was cleared, preserving the Jumbo win.
Tufts improves to 8-2 for the season (5-2 NESCAC), while the Jeffs fall to 5-4-1 (3-3-1 NESCAC). The four losses is the most for Amherst since the 1993 Jeffs finished 10-5. Amherst is next in action on Thursday against Eastern Connecticut State University, before Saturday's showdown against arch-rival Williams College.
The Jumbos are now 10-6-4 all-time against the Jeffs, including a 2-0-1 mark in the last three meetings in Amherst.
