LEWISTON, ME - First-year striker Lee-Jay Henry (Springfield, MA) scored twice in 69 seconds midway through the second half to lead the third-seeded Amherst College women's soccer team to a 3-1 victory over sixth-seeded Tufts University in Sunday's NESCAC Championship Tournament quarterfinals at Bates College. First-year striker Tracy Montigny (East Granby, CT) added a goal and two assists for Amherst, who will face second-seeded Middlebury College in next Saturday's semifinals at top-seeded Williams College.
Sunday's quarterfinal was a back-and-forth affair throughout, beginning with two goals in the first seven minutes of play. The Jumbos drew first blood after a deflection from a long cross beat Amherst junior goalie Brooke Diamond (Longmeadow, MA) at the 3:47-mark. The early goal, however, only managed to put a charge in the Amherst offense and the Jeffs would retaliate less than three minutes later. After a long ball down the left sideline, junior midfielder Katelyn McCabe (West Hartford, CT) swatted a pretty pass to senior tri-captain midfielder Cathy Poor (Harwich Port, MA), who rocketed a shot off the crossbar. The deflection went right to Montigny, who blasted a left-footed shot into the right corner for the equalizer.
Montigny's goal, which came at the 6:14-mark, started a wild 15-minute span of back-and-forth scoring chances for both teams. The first of those chances came in the 10th minute when McCabe deked senior Tufts goalie Mara Schanfield, but had her shot from the left wing skid past the right post. Just four minutes later, the Jumbos almost had their second goal, but a header from senior Lynn Cooper on an empty net slid just wide. Amherst had one more solid scoring chance in the first half, but Poor, one goal away from a school-record, sent a header just over the crossbar.
Despite the numerous scoring chances, the game reached halftime deadlocked 1-1. In the second half, the Amherst midfield began to take over. Led by the duo of Poor and senior tri-captain Hallison Putnam (Lexington, KY), the Jeffs controlled possession for most of the second half's first 20 minutes. In the 62nd minute, Henry came on for fellow first-year Adrienne Showler (Ottawa, Ontario) and the striker made her presence felt almost immediately. Just into the 64th minute, Henry took a feed from Montigny and blasted a right-footed rocket past Schanfield just inside the left post. Just 69 seconds later, history repeated itself when Montigny slotted a perfectly timed through ball to Henry, leaving her with a one-on-one with Schanfield. Again the Jeffs' first-year blasted a right-footed shot from the right wing just inside the left post and, all of the sudden, Amherst held a 3-1 lead.
After Henry's two goals, the Jeffs continued to control the game's offensive flow, including a pair of scoring opportunities for Poor in the 72nd and 77th minutes. The Jumbo defense, however, clamped down holding the Amherst lead at two goals.
The Jumbos, who advanced to the NCAA Championship game one year ago, refused to exit quietly. Tufts threatened the Amherst net several times in the last 10 minutes, including a cross in the 82nd minute that ricocheted harmlessly off the left post. Amherst junior Briana Porco (Fairfield, CT) cleared the missed cross, effectively ending Tufts' chances and sealing the win for the Jeffs. Diamond finished with four saves, including two key stops late in the first half as the Jeffs improved to 9-4-1 with their second win over Tufts in three weeks. The Jumbos, who handed Amherst one of only five losses in 2000, finished their 2001 campaign with a record of 8-7. With the win, Amherst advances to next weekend's NESCAC semifinals at top-seeded Williams. There, the Jeffs will have a rematch with Middlebury, who defeated seventh-seeded Trinity, 2-1, in Sunday's first quarterfinal. Host and top-seed Williams will face forth-seeded Bowdoin, 3-0 victors over Bates College in Sunday's third quarterfinal.
