WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – The 25th-ranked Amherst College women's soccer team traveled to face NESCAC and Little Three archrival Williams College this afternoon on a perfect fall day. Lord Jeff rookie Amanda Brisco (Houston, TX) scored the game-winner in the 64th minute, lifting Amherst to the 1-0 upset win over the 8th-ranked Ephs.

The Lord Jeffs had been unable to pick up a win against the Ephs since 2005, with Williams posting a 3-0-1 record in the last four games. Today's victory is the first against Williams for each and every member of the Amherst team.

Just over 15 minutes into the first half, Eph forward Annalise Snyder took a loose ball and sliced behind Amherst goal Allie Horwitz (Woodbridge, CT) with her first touch. As she looked to place a shot into the Lord Jeff net, Amherst defender Allison Dorey (San Francisco, CA) came from the weak side to clear the shot off the goal line and prevent a sure goal.

With 26 minutes to play in the second half, Amherst took a 1-0 lead on a spectacular, two-assist goal. In traffic, Kathryn Nathan (Pembroke, MA) slid a soft pass back to Emily Little (Sherborn, MA) on the left wing. Little's first touch was a lofted ball into the middle of the six-yard box, where Brisco introduced herself to the rivalry with a hard-fought header for the score.

In the ten minutes following the Brisco score, Williams pushed numbers forward looking for an equalizer. The Amherst back line of Jill Kochanek (Pittsburgh, PA), Sandy Shepherd (Coronado, CA), Livia Rizzo (Dover, MA) and Dorey helped force tough shots that never looked likely to beat Horwitz.

With just 12 minutes to play senior tri-captain Jackie Hirsch (Wilmette, IL) nearly doubled the lead for the Lord Jeffs on a spectacular long shot. After a corner kick was cleared out to 35 yards, Hirsch took one touch and blasted a ball that missed the right upper corner by less than a foot.

In the 81st minute, Williams caused some concern with a corner after a scramble in the Amherst goal box. On the ensuing kick, an Eph player was whistled for a foul in the box, momentarily relieving the pressure. A slight injury stopped the clock with 2:40 to play as Amherst had dropped all eleven players into its own half on defense. The Lord Jeffs did what they had to in order to preserve the result, holding on for the 1-0 win.

Amherst will return to action one week from today for another huge road conference game at Middlebury. The Lord Jeffs and Panthers will kick off at 2 p.m. in Vermont.