AMHERST, Mass. - Buoyed by a pair of first half goals, the eighth-ranked Amherst women's soccer team clinched the top seed in the upcoming NESCAC Championship with a 3-0 win over Wesleyan on Hitchcock Field. Now 13-0-0 on the season and 9-0-0 in NESCAC play, Amherst extended its win streak to a program record 13 games, while improving to 29-6-1 all-time against Wesleyan.
Hoping to get off to a fast start, Amherst generated the game's first scoring chance less than a minute after the opening whistle with Sarah Duffy '14 (Fairfield, Conn.) making a run down the far side. Looking toward goal, the Fairfield, Conn. native played a cross into the middle of the six-yard box, finding Mel Stier (Deerfield, Mass.), but the first-year forward sent the ensuing volley just over the Wesleyan crossbar.
Continuing to apply pressure in the seventh minute, senior Jess Wall (Glencoe, Ill.) played a ball into Duffy, who turned and fired a low shot on goal, but Cardinal first-year keeper Jessica Tollman smothered the try to keep Amherst off the board.
Trying to turn the tide a couple minutes later, Wesleyan sophomore Kerry Doyle looked to be behind the Jeff defense, catching up to a through-ball from the midfield, but the North Haven, Conn. native couldn't control her first touch as the ball harmlessly rolled to Amherst goalkeeper Allie Horwitz (Woodbridge, Conn.).
Still searching for the game's first score, Wall found Nathan just above the 18-yard box in the 16th minute. Finding herself in space, Nathan quickly turned toward goal, lifting a hard shot over Tollman's head to stake Amherst to an early 1-0 advantage.
Looking for a quick response, Wesleyan pushed forward, creating a scoring chance of their own at 17:56. Evading a pair of Jeff defenders in the left side of the box, Doyle rifled a rising shot headed for goal, but Horwitz making a sprawling save, punching over the bar to keep the Cardinals scoreless.
Going back on the offensive, Amherst won a corner in the 24th minute. Standing on the near side flag, Nathan floated a cross across the face of the goal finding sophomore Kate Sisk (Sudbury, Mass.) who got a piece of the pass, sending it toward the back post to senior Jill Kochanek (Pittsburgh, Pa.), who headed it into the net to give the Jeffs a 2-0 lead heading into the intermission.
Wanting to carry their momentum into the second, Amherst came out firing, registering the frame's first three shots. Duffy nearly added to the tally in the 51st minute, heading a Stier cross on net, but Tollman got both hands on the try to keep Wesleyan within two.
With Amherst playing another ball into the box just over a minute later, Tollman came off her line, going to the ground to try to corral the loose ball. Unable to get a firm grasp on the cross, an alert Amanda Brisco '14 (Houston, Texas) charged in, footing the ball toward goal over Tollman's outstretched hands, but the shot sailed high, keeping the score at 2-0.
Still up by two with just over 20 to play, Amherst won a free-kick from a dangerous position on the right side. Stepping up to take the kick, senior Allison Dorey (San Francisco, Calif.) played a cross toward the back post, where Kochanek took to the air, winning the ball, but sending the header just over the Wesleyan bar.
With Amherst controlling the bulk of possession and Wesleyan managing just three shots in the second half against a disciplined Amherst backline, Chloe McKenzie '14 (Upper Marlboro, Md.) capped off scoring in the 83rd minute, ripping a shot from the left side of the 18 into the right corner to seal the Lord Jeffs' 3-0 win.
Amherst finished with a decisive 25-10 shot advantage and a 6-3 edge in corners. Horwitz finished with six saves en route to her 13th victory, while Tollman made nine stops in the loss.
The Lord Jeffs close out the regular season on Wednesday, Oct. 26 against Connecticut College.
