AMHERST, MA - After 90 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtimes of scoreless play, Amherst College sophomore Kaitlin Hill (Andover, MA) nailed a game-winning penalty kick to give the second-seeded Jeffs a dramatic victory over visiting seventh-seeded Tufts University in the first-round of the NESCAC Postseason Championship Tournament on Sunday. With the win, Amherst (9-3-3) advances to the conference semifinals hosted by top-seeded Bowdoin College, where they'll take on third-seeded Williams College Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Amherst had several scoring chances in regulation, most of them on shots by its leading scorer, junior forward Ashley Harmeling (N. Reading, MA), who entered the game with 14 goals, just two shy of the Jeffs' single-season school record. Harmeling nearly connected on a direct kick 35 minutes into the first half, and was denied again just 44 seconds later by Tufts goalie Meg McCourt (Rochester, NY) off a crossing pass from classmate Tracy Montigny (East Granby, CT). Harmeling had another opportunity with a left-footed attempt with 7:51 left in the second overtime, but McCourt, who had a great afternoon with six saves, came up huge with a juggling two-handed save.
With two overtimes complete, the tiebreaker provided high drama. Amherst took the first shot in the best-of-five penalty kick format, and Harmeling led off with a near miss. Tufts junior Jen Baldwin (Medway, MA) was next, and she was stoned by Amherst rookie goalie Jeanette Crowell (San Rafael, CA), who made an acrobatic left-handed stop. Amherst's Sarah Coleman (New Haven, CT) and Tufts' Becca Doigan (West Bloomfield, MI) connected on their ensuing kicks, and senior Alexa Lawson-Remer (La Jolla, CA) gave Amherst a 2-1 lead with a blast into the back of the net. Crowell then made the play of the game, stopping Tufts' senior Abby Herzberg (Sebastopol, CA) with a sprawling right-footed kick save, and Amherst senior Jenny Rossman (Newton, MA) upped the lead to 3-1 with a laser past Jumbo rookie netminder Annie Ross (Newton, MA), who replaced McCourt after the second overtime. Tufts junior Sarah Gelb (Hermosa Beach, CA) responded with a shot into the bottom left corner of the net, but Hill sealed the win on the Jeffs' next kick, sending the home crowd and the Amherst bench into a frenzy.
Crowell was a major factor in Amherst's victory, finishing with seven saves as Tufts outshot the Jeffs 18-8. The shutout was Crowell's fifth of the season and Amherst's fifth straight dating back to a 2-1 win at Colby College on October 11.
Tufts moved to 9-5-1 with the tie and awaits word of a possible at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
