Football Rolls to 5-0
Football Rolls to 5-0Amherst showcased its versatile offense against the Cardinals, compiling 228 yards on the ground and another 311 in the air. Darin Byrne (Winchester, MA) led the running game, plowing out 107 yards on 14 carries in the first half alone as the team's leading rusher, while Todd Haggerty (Albany, NY) tacked on 131 yards in the air on five catches.
Amherst opened up scoring midway through the first when Co-Captain Rich Willard (Johnstown, NY) connected on 3rd and 10 with Haggerty for a 73-yard bomb toward an early 7-0 lead. The senior's catch was just four yards short of Amherst's longest ever, a 77-yarder in 1991. Willard racked up a season-best 311 yards on 19-32 completions as he brings his career total to 3,551 yards, just 245 short of the Amherst career best set in 1969 by John Kehoe '70. The Jeffs would score on three successive possessions for a 21-0 halftime lead.
Byrne led the Jeffs' next scoring drive, carrying 49 of the 80-yard series, including a 10-yard run to goal. The junior then handed off duties to classmate Jeff Coviello (Harrison, NY) as he dove over a pack of Cardinals for the first of his two scores late in the second quarter.
Though entering the locker room without a touchdown on the board, Wesleyan had scoring opportunities, though filched by big plays by the Amherst defense. Late in the first quarter, James DeLuca (Rochester, NY) batted down a Cardinal pass in the endzone as the Jeffs have kept all five opponents scoreless in the opening stanza. Amherst extended its shutout to six straight quarters as outside linebacker Jake Conca (Attleboro, MA) intercepted a pass in the endzone with 2:35 to play in the half. The Jeffs have picked 10 opponent passes to date.
After the break, Wesleyan hit the field fired up for a fifth win. The Cardinals gained nearly half their total yardage (147 of 301) in the third quarter with two touchdowns. Amherst's aggressive special teams were called for roughing the kicker on a Wesleyan punt to prolong the Cardinal drive to goal. A 26-yard shot sent Wesleyan into the red zone where a 13-yard pass halted the Jeffs' quest for a fourth shutout. While the Cardinals couldn't capitalize on a recovered Amherst fumble, Jake Fay (Glastonbury, CT), the NESCAC's top passer, launched a 67-yard rocket to the Amherst 13 toward a second Cardinal tally.
But Amherst's trademark defense kicked in in the fourth quarter, stifling Wesleyan with almost 11 minutes of possession time and holding the Cardinals to a mere 16 yards with -13 on the ground. Rookie Liam Fleming (Braintree, MA) capped off an 80-yard drive over five minutes with a 28-yard field goal before Coviello ran his fourth TD into the endzone midway through the period. Wesleyan fumbled Fleming's ensuing onsides kick, recovered at the Wesleyan 39 by Conca. The senior forced a Cardinal fumble two minutes later as Alex Tracy (Easton, MA) pounced on the ball at midfield. Wideout Colin Barnacle (Denver, CO) rounded out Amherst scoring after a series of skillful catches under heavy coverage, including a 13-yard score, the fourth of his senior season.
While Amherst compiled a whopping 539 yards of offense, the Jeff defense held the Cardinals to negative yardage on the ground with five sacks and another handful of tackles for loss of yardage. Amherst punctuated its performance with an 8-yard sack by rookie Ted Hollo (Aurora, OH) to close out the game with the Jeffs as the second-best rishing defense in the nation (38.8 yards per game).
Saturday, October 18, 1997 at Amherst, Massachusetts Wesleyan (4-1) 0 0 14 0 -- 14 Amherst (5-0) 7 14 0 15 -- 36 First Quarter 5:47 A Todd Haggerty 73 pass from Rich Willard (Liam Fleming kick) Second Quarter 14:30 A Darin Byrne 10 run (Fleming kick) 5:59 A Jeff Coviello 7 run (Fleming kick) Third Quarter 9:43 W Matt Perceval 13 pass from Jake Fay (Ben Kozik kick) 0:44 W John Pascucci 1 run (Kozik kick) Fourth Quarter 11:28 A Fleming 29 field goal 7:40 A Coviello 4 run (Fleming kick wide) 1:51 A Colin Barnacle 13 pass from Willard (Fleming kick wide) Amherst Wesleyan First Downs 31 17 Rushes-Yards 52-228 25-(-2) Passing Yards 311 303 Return Yards 57 136 Passes 32-19-0 37-21-1 Punts 2-59 5-181 Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-2 Penalties-Yards 5-45 6-45
Rushing: A Darin Byrne 20-121, Jeff Coviello 18-89, Bob DiSabato 12-36, Rich Willard 1-(-4), Colin Barnacle 1-(-14). W Tom Themistocles 8-17, John Pascucci 8-6, Dale Hendricks 1-4, Jake Fay 6-(-11), Nate Moore 1-(-6), Mark Schofield 2-(-12).
Passing: A Willard 32-19-0 311 yards. W Fay 21-19-1 274 yards, Schofield 5-2-0 29 yards.
Receiving: A Barnacle 6-85, Todd Haggerty 5-131, Shaun Quigley 5-54, DiSabato 2-19, Coviello 1-16, Paul Rieckhoff 1-9. W Matt Perceval 7-165, Pascucci 5-45, Shane Doyle 3-42, Mike Hakim 3-18, Themistocles 2-15, Henry Wasserman 1-18.
Amherst and Wheaton faced off for the top-spot in New England in a meeting of No. 1 and No. 2. The Lyons put themselves on the scoreboard first less than 10 minutes into the match before Andy Kay (North Easton, MA) equalized with a run down the left side of the field toward the seventh goal of his sophomore season. But Wheaton would get payback for Amherst's two upsets over two years as the Lyons earned a penalty kick on the Jeffs' 26th foul of the day.
The Jeffs suffered another loss three days later in a Homecoming battle. Keeper Kevin Larner (Short Hills, NJ) posted 10 saves against the Cardinals, but Wesleyan snuck two by him for opponents' first shutout of the season. Facing aggressive offenses in both games, Jon George (Minneapolis, MN), Mike Grant (Mendon, MA), Ben Haley (Milford, CT) and Nate McDonald (Burnsville, MN) stood strong in the backfield, making a series of defensive saves against 36 shots.
Amherst came back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the match in regulation and defeat Wesleyan in overtime for its 10th straight win. With less than 12 on the clock, Katie Connelly (East Granby, CT), who scored the game-winner over Williams last week, sent a Beth Leonard (Longmeadow, MA) cross into the net to spark the Amherst offense. Connelly followed up seven minutes later with an assist on the equalizer, a blast from sophomore Genny Furst (Deephaven, MN). The Jeffs capitalized on their 13th corner kick of the day in overtime as Ellie Hickerson (Davenport, IA) lobbed a ball to Hersey for the game-winner.
Two days earlier, the Jeffs prepped for Wesleyan with a 3-1 assault on Wheaton, outshooting the Lyons 36-15 for the match, 26-3 in the first half. Hersey notched the first two goals of the match on feeds by Hickerson and Kerry Weeks (Longmeadow, MA) before she traded roles and assisted Weeks's first goal of the year.
Alie Stechenberg (Longmeadow, MA) jumpstarted the offense with 6:17 to play as she notched Amherst's first goal in over 150 minutes off an Irene Permut (Wilmington, DE) push. Turning up the intensity, the Jeffs leveled 13 shots on the Cardinals in the second half including the tying goal with 3:21 on the clock by senior Heather Kestner (Wilmington, DE). Pushing the match into sudden death, the teams combined for eight shots in less than six minutes before Stechenberg fed rookie Gretchen Bowe (Hampstead, NH) for the win.
Current Record: 9-2
Notching their seventh win of the season, Carolyn Pastel (Old Lyme, CT) finished off her match against UMass that began a month earlier but was suspended because of darkness. Leading in the third set, the rookie cruised to a 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over her cross-town opponent for a 4-3 Amherst win.
Game Notes: Amherst (5-0) at Tufts (1-4)
Saturday, October 25 at Zimman Field at Ellis Oval, Medford, Massachusetts
After peaking with a No. 4 national ranking as the top team in New England with a 7-0-1 record, the Jeffs fell to Wheaton and Wesleyan to knock them out of the national top-25 and to fourth in the region.
Men's Soccer Drops First Games of the Year
No. Name G A P
11 Andrew Kay '00 7 1 15
7 Matthew Diggs '99 4 3 11
4 Timothy Christian '98 4 0 8
9 Devin Talbott '98 3 1 7
10 Gary Kegal '00 1 2 4
3 Nate McDonald '98 1 1 3
5 Brian Angelini '00E 0 2 2
12 Mike Grant '99 0 1 1
18 Mike Sullivan '98 0 1 1
Amherst Totals 20 12 52
Opponent Totals 12 9 33
Goalkeeping W L T Min Svs GA Sv% GAA ShO
Kevin Larner '99 7 2 1 910 60 11 .845 1.09 3
Stephen Tornabene '01 0 2 0 20 3 1 .750 4.50 0
Amherst Totals 7 2 1 930 63 12 .840 1.16 3
Opponent Totals 2 7 1 930 61 20 .753 1.94 1
Current Record: 7-2-1
Last Week: Wheaton, L 1-2
Wesleyan, L 0-2
This Week: Wed Oct 22 Babson, 3:30pm
Sat Oct 25 at Tufts, 1:30pm
The Class of '98 rounded out their Little III careers with a 7-0-1 combined record against Wesleyan and Williams as women's soccer earned its fourth straight Little III title with a come-from-behind victory over the Cardinals. Katie Hersey (Westford, MA) was named the NESCAC Player of the Week as she led the Jeffs to a 2-0 week an scored the game-winner for the trivalry crown.
Women's Soccer Claims Fourth Straight Little III Title
No. Name G A P
15 Kathryn Hersey '99 9 3 21
8/1 Katie Connelly '00 4 4 12
14 Ellie Hickerson '98 0 8 8
9 Shaunette Richards '98 3 1 7
4 Genny Furst '00 3 1 7
18 Erika Johnson '98 2 1 5
19 Kerry Weeks '98 1 3 5
11 Alexa Faigen '01 2 0 4
27 Laura Kochansky '98 2 0 4
24 Beth Leonard '98 1 2 4
3 Meg Riley '01 2 0 4
12 Janinne Noel '99 0 1 1
10 Jen Havlik '00 0 1 1
22 Lauren Eichler '01 0 1 1
Opponent Own Goals 1 0 2
Amherst Totals 30 26 86
Opponent Totals 7 7 21
Goalkeeping W L T Min Svs GA Sv%* GAA ShO
Sarah Fabian '98 11 1 0 1147 90 6 .938 0.47 6
Katie Connelly '00 0 0 0 23 3 1 .750 3.91 0
Amherst Totals 11 1 0 1170 93 7 .930 0.54 6
Amherst Totals 1 11 0 1170 143 30 .827 2.31 1
Current Record: 11-1
Last Week: Wheaton, W 3-1
Wesleyan, W 3-2 OT
This Week: Sat Oct 25 at Tufts, 11:00am
Amherst field hockey earned a piece of its second Little III title in as many years with another come-from-behind Homecoming victory over Wesleyan. Down 2-0 in the waning moments of the match, the Jeffs equalized in regulation and capped off the win early in sudden death to split the trivalry title three ways, as each Amherst, Wesleyan and Williams posted a victory over another Little III member.
Field Hockey Forces Three-Way Split of Little III Crown
No. Name G A P
2 Tyra Gettleman '00 8 1 17
12 Sandy Accordino '99 5 2 12
3 Gretchen Bowe '01 6 1 13
4 Irene Permut '99 3 4 10
11 Alie Stechenberg '00 4 1 9
24 Heather Kestner '98 3 2 8
22 Marnie Huffman-Green '99 1 2 4
20 Kristen Osborn '01 1 1 3
25 Risa Ravitz '00 1 0 2
9 Carline Kelly '01 0 1 1
10 Aleni Pappas '00 0 1 1
Amherst Totals 32 16 80
Opponent Totals 9 3 21
Goalkeeping W L T Min Svs PC GA Sv% GAA ShO
Jes Rich '99 9 2 0 794 41 49 9 .820 0.79 6
Amherst Totals 9 2 0 794 41 49 9 .820 0.79 6
Opponent Totals 2 9 0 794 143 150 32 .817 2.82 1
Last Week: Wesleyan, W 3-2 OT
This Week: Sat Oct 25 at Tufts, 11:00am
Rebounding from a 1-2 showing at Bowdoin last weekend, the Firedogs returned to Brunswick, Maine to claim a 3-0 record for a first place showing at the NESCAC Quad Tourney. Kicking off the invitational with a 3-0 victory over Bates, Amherst dropped only 19 points in the next six games as the Firedogs earned two more 3-0 wins over Connecticut College and Bowdoin, both whom Amhrerst had already defeated this year.
Volleyball Claims First at NESCAC Quad
Current Record: 18-7
Last Week: NESCAC Quad Tourney at Bowdoin, 1st place
Bates, W 3-0
Connecticut College, W 3-0
Bowdoin, W 3-0
This Week: Fri-Sat Oct 24-25 Hall of Fame Tourney at Mount Holyoke
As one of only two undefeated teams left this spring, women's tennis holds onto its No. 1 ranking in New England for the fourth straight week. The Jeffs added two more 9-0 wins to their 9-0 record with blankings of Middlebury and Tufts in preparation for the New England Championships this weekend in Amherst.
Women's Tennis Still Undefeated
Individual Records Singles Doubles
Jamie Cohen '01 14-0 10-3
Pam Diamond '99 10-3 10-3
Neely Steinberg '99 12-1 10-3
Sam Toerge '99 6-4 7-4
Patti Jo '01 6-4 1-3
Carolyn Pastel '01 7-2 9-2
Sally Childs '98 1-0 6-2
Current Record: 9-0
Last Week: UMass (continued from 9/17), W 4-3
Middlebury, W 9-0
Tufts, W 9-0
This Week: Fri-Sun Oct 24-26 New Englands at Amherst