AMHERST, MA - The Amherst College men's soccer team battled visiting NESCAC and Little Three rival Wesleyan University to a 0-0 double-overtime stalemate on Saturday afternoon. Amherst rookie goalkeeper Jeff Grover (Framingham, MA) tallied seven saves to notch his second shutout of the season.
The first half was marked by a very physical battle for possession and field position, as the teams combined for just six shots. The Jeffs nearly got on the board at the 25:06-mark when senior Adrien de Bontin (Kenilworth, IL) ripped a right-footed rocket past Cardinal netminder Matt Gnall (Morristown, NJ) from 25 yards out, but the shot caromed off the crossbar to keep the game deadlocked, and the score remained that way heading into the break.
The second stanza featured some spectacular defensive efforts, including five sparkling saves from Grover to keep the count even and send the game to overtime. At the 77:06-mark, Grover turned away a low frozen rope from wide-open Cardinal first-year striker Matt Nevin (Montclair, NJ), and somehow managed to hold onto the ball to momentarily avert the pressure. Grover one-upped himself just moments later, stone-walling a point-blank Chris Brown (Boise, ID) breakaway with a diving right-handed stop and giving the Jeffs some much-needed momentum. Amherst saw perhaps its best chance of the period when rookie Nick Lynch (Kingston, Jamaica) slid a shot past Wesleyan sophomore goalkeeper Jamie Hiteshew (Montclair, NJ) in the waning minutes of regulation, but the effort rolled just wide and the teams headed for extra time.
The Jeffs created several more opportunities in overtime, including a thrilling flurry of shots in the 105th minute, when sophomore Taylor Downs (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY) found the end of two consecutive de Bontin corner kicks and fired headers on net, but Hiteshew came up with critical stops to secure the stalemate.
Hiteshew finished with five saves on the day as the Cardinals moved to 6-2-3 (3-2-2 NESCAC) on the season, while the Jeffs moved to 7-3-3 (4-2-2 NESCAC).
Amherst returns to action Saturday at 11 a.m. at conference and Little Three archrival Williams College.
