AMHERST, Massachusetts - Senior Amherst College women's soccer tri-captain Cathy Poor (Harwich Port, MA) netted her second goal in as many games in the sixth minute, and fellow tri-captain Hallison Putnam (Lexington, KY) posted six saves in her first-ever game as a goalkeeper, as the Jeffs stormed past visiting Bates College, 2-0, in Saturday's home opener on Amherst's Hitchcock Field. After a touching pre-game ceremony with all six of the Amherst and Bates men's and women's soccer and field hockey teams, the Jeffs stormed out of the gates in the early going, mounting several early scoring chances on junior Bates goalkeeper Kim Martell (Needham, MA). The early momentum paid off in the sixth minute, when Poor finished a deflected shot from senior striker Heather Govern (Beverly, MA) to put the Jeffs on the scoreboard.
The goal from Poor, who scored a school-record 11 goals as a junior, would be the only tally of the first half, despite a flurry of Amherst chances midway through the period. Govern nearly widened the lead at the 15-minute mark, only to have a well-driven shot tipped away by a diving Martell. 10 minutes later, a free kick from junior Katharine Shipley (Newton, MA) nearly slipped under the crossbar, but Martell deflected it up off the post at the last moment, preserving the one-goal difference.
The Jeffs kept threatening, with Poor almost picking up her second tally of the game one minute later, only to again be thwarted by Martell, who made a diving punch save to keep the score at 1-0 through halftime.
In the second half, the Bobcats began to put together some offensive momentum, threatening Putnam-starting her first career game as a goalie with junior starter Brooke Diamond (Longmeadow, MA) out with mononucleosis. But, thanks to a stellar defensive effort, anchored by Shipley and tri-captain Margaret Rubin (McLean, VA), the Jeffs kept Bates from netting the equalizer. Putnam, who scored the game-tying goal in the Jeffs' 3-2 triple-overtime win at Bates in the 2000 ECAC Championship game, finished with six saves in net, including two key stops midway through the second half.
On the other half of the ball, the Jeffs turned towards their talented crop of first-years for second-half offense, and the rookies came through, with solid performances from newcomers Lee-Jay Henry (Springfield, MA) and Tracy Montigny (East Granby, CT). Montigny sealed the scoring in the 66th minute, with a pretty juke move to isolate herself at the top-left corner of the penalty box, blasting a right-footed shot into the top-right corner of the net.
Montigny's first career goal capped the scoring, with most of the last 20 minutes of action taking place in the midfield. Bates would mount a pair of late scoring chances, but Shipley and Putnam teamed up to turn them away, capping the 2-0 final.
With the win, Amherst avenges Bates' 1-0 victory in last year's regular-season meeting of the teams in Maine, and improves to 2-0 on the season and in the NESCAC. Bates, which received six saves from Martell in the losing effort, falls to 2-1 (0-1 NESCAC). The Jeffs head to Connecticut for their next two contests, with a 4:30 kick-off at Eastern Connecticut State University on Wednesday, before heading to NESCAC-rival Connecticut College for a Saturday afternoon matinee next weekend.
