AMHERST, MA - NESCAC Player of the Year Cathy Poor (Harwich Port, MA) scored a pair of goals and assisted on three others as fourth-seeded Amherst College blanked visiting fifth-seed Endicott College, 6-0, in the first-round of NCAA Women's Soccer New England Regional on Wednesday. First-year phenom Tracy Montigny (East Granby, CT) added a goal and two assists for Amherst - extending her consecutive game postseason scoring streak to four games - while sophomore midfielder Jenny Rossman (Newton, MA) chipped in with two goals, including the game-winner 12:29 into the first half. With the win, Amherst improves to 12-4-1 and advances to the NCAA second round this Saturday against New England Regional host Wheaton College (20-0).
The Jeffs jumped on Endicott (16-6) - which earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship - early and often, with a trio of goals during a three-minute span midway through the first half, all of which were assisted by Poor.
Rossman ignited the barrage with a point-blank rocket off the hands of Endicott first-year goalkeeper Sarah Nichols (Middleton, MA), followed by Montigny's goal - a lofted top-spin shot that curled just under the crossbar - and a tally by first-year striker Adrienne Showler (Ottawa, Ontario), who beat Nichols to a loose ball at the top of the box for a 3-0 Amherst lead. Poor then cracked the scoring column with just over 10 minutes left in the half with a left-footed rainbow just inside the far post - assisted by junior midfielder Katelyn McCabe (West Hartford, CT) - to stretch the lead to 4-0.
With the game well in hand, Montigny assisted on a pair of insurance goals in the second half. Rossman notched the first with a spectacular juke-move from 12 yards out, before Poor capped the scoring with 31:17 remaining off a Montigny header for her team-leading 13th goal of the season. Meanwhile, Amherst's defense was rock-solid with All-NESCAC junior Katharine Shipley (Newton, MA), senior Margaret Rubin (McLean, VA) and first-year Mary Sarro-Waite (Far Hills, NJ) flushing the ball out of the Jeffs' zone every time Endicott managed to cross midfield. Junior goalie Brooke Diamond (Longmeadow, MA) went largely untested, needing just three saves for her 22nd career shutout. Nichols was the lone bright spot for Endicott, finishing with 14 saves on the afternoon.
With her pair of goals, Poor shattered the previous Amherst single-season goal-scoring record of 11 she set last season, increasing her career point total to 98. The Jeffs' six goals were the most they've ever scored in an NCAA Tournament game, topping their previous mark of four in a 1994 win over UMass-Darmouth. Amherst is now 7-3-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.
The Jeffs will now face host Wheaton College in Saturday's regional semifinals, while Western Connecticut State will take on NESCAC runner-up Williams College - which blanked Framingham State, 9-0, in its first-round game on Wednesday. The Jeffs are 11-3-2 all-time against Wheaton, including a 3-1 Amherst victory in 1997 - their most recent encounter. Amherst and Wheaton have two common opponents this season: Connecticut College, which Amherst downed 2-1 in double overtime and Wheaton blanked 8-0, and Endicott, which Wheaton edged 1-0.
