Men's lacrosse rebounds with big wins

The Lord Jeffs did not disappoint. Amherst walloped Bowdoin 11-2, humiliating the hosts in front of their home crowd and holding the Polar Bears to just two goals-the first time an opponent had done so since 1980. With the win, the Jeffs sent a powerful statement to the rest of the conference-and perhaps the nation at large-that the team has recovered from its midseason slump and is ready to enter the postseason firing on all cylinders. The Jeffs jumped out to an early 2-1 lead in the first qua

Men's lacrosse off to hot start with two wins in Florida

Despite the loss to Nazareth, the Jeffs now take a winning record and the confidence that comes with it into the NESCAC opener this Saturday. The new season officially kicked off last Tuesday, March 16, when the Lord Jeffs took on the Lords of Kenyon College in Orlando, Fla. Amherst attackmen bombarded the Kenyon net early on, scoring six goals in the first quarter and getting into double digits before the end of the first half. Junior goaltender Cushing Donelan made the lead stand up in the se

Women's hockey wins final three games

“We couldn’t be more excited about this weekend and [Tuesday’s] win against Connecticut College,” said senior co-captain Amanda Muller. The Camels came to Orr Rink last night in the Jeffs’ pivotal season finale. Amherst went into the game knowing it had already secured a spot in the playoffs; a loss would assure the team a road trip to begin the NESCAC Tournament. Head Coach Jim Plumer’s team came out skating hard, fighting for playoff position and momentum. It was the Camels who struck first,

Women's hockey: Tenth win ties record for regular season victories

First-year goaltender Lindsay Grabowski ’07 continued her fine rookie campaign with another solid weekend in net. Of the 40 shots on goal she faced this weekend, Grabowski saved 39 of them, improving her save percentage to 87.6 percent. “Lindsay Grabowski in goal has been amazing. She has been saving the season many times over,” said classmate Rachel Simon. Grabowski also lifted her overall record to 10-10, having recorded a decision in every Jeff game this year. The Jeffs had a number of playe

With new coach, women's ice hockey gears up for glory

But with the influx of seven first-years and a new head coach on the bench, this year’s installment of Jeffs is fully capable of returning to the playoffs and advancing deep into the postseason. “We have a really wonderful class coming in that is going to add a lot of depth to the team,” said co-captain Amanda Muller ’04. Jim Plumer is the new head coach of the team, taking over for Kay Cowperthwait, who had been at the helm for six seasons and guided the Jeffs to two consecutive playoff berth

Men's soccer: Cardinal kicks end Amherst's playoff dreams

Amherst, once ranked sixth in the nation, was stunned by the playoff tie at home. Amherst shooters comforted Christian Alexander ’06, who had the misfortune of being the ninth Amherst shooter, the only Jeff whose miss was followed by a Wesleyan goal. Andrew Syfu ’05, the loyal defender, went to console his goalie, Lockwood, who was still lying prostrate on the goal line. The teams shook hands, the Jeffs, despondent, listened to their coaches as best they could and finally walked off the field fo

No goals, no resolution for men's soccer

The Lord Jeffs, who have of late grown accustomed to dominating opponents physically, were matched against an able foe this time. The Middlebury Panthers were fast and strong on the ball. They were talented in the air, winning half (if not more) of the headers and had terrific field sense. Middlebury did not just get their heads on balls in the air, but directed them immediately to the feet of nearby teammates, helping to fuel an aggressive transition game. They were able to create space for the

Men's soccer downs Bowdoin and ups ranking

That all changed Saturday morning in a span of 12 minutes, in which the Jeffs scored three goals and seized their third NESCAC victory of the season. The scoring blitz leveled Bowdoin College, which had been enjoying a 1-0 lead, but also notified the rest of NESCAC that Amherst plans to be this class’ top student. As the game between Amherst and Bowdoin got underway Saturday morning, it became clear that Amherst was the aggressor. The Jeff midfield lofted long balls repeatedly over the unsuspec

10th-ranked men's soccer jumps on Jumbos

This year, however, it was the Lord Jeffs on the winning end. Amherst scored once early and twice late in the game to roll to a 3-0 victory over Tufts in Medford, Mass., raising the Jeffs’ overall record to 2-0 and continuing the shut-out streak for the Amherst keepers. These two victories have pulled the team up from a ranking of 15th in the country to an impressive 10th. The only other NESCAC team in the top 10 is Bowdoin College, which occupies the number five spot. Forward Joe Gannon ’06,

Men's soccer dominates Seahawks in opener

The senior leadership of the Jeffs set the tone early. In the tenth minute of play, quad-captain forward Frank Perry ’04 converted a feed from quad-captain midfielder Tim Canon ’04, for an early 1-0 lead. Just seven minutes later, midfielder Christian Alexander ’06 found the back of the net courtesy of an assist from midfielder Ben Lavely ’06. Forward Mike Wohl ’07, making his collegiate debut, netted his first career goal in the 44th minute. Forward Joe Gannon ’06 was credited with the assist.

Men's soccer team has legitimate national ambitions

“We don’t have any anxieties that we’re not going to score enough goals; our strongest goal scorers are back,” said Co-head Coach Peter Gooding. “The more significant issue for us is, can we improve our defensive play? Too often last season our defense made mistakes that they shouldn’t have made.” In order to solidify the backfield, Amherst is hoping to infuse its core of veteran defenders with both new faces and old friends. Returning to the defense this year will be Andrew Syfu ’05, the blazi

Men's lacrosse gets last laugh with Ephs

Approximately 22 hours after losing to Williams College in the regular season finale on Saturday, the Lord Jeffs played the Ephs again in the first round of the NESCAC playoffs Sunday, this time on the more friendly Hitchcock Field. Amherst won the game, setting up a NESCAC semifinal round matchup against defending national champion Middlebury College on Saturday at Middlebury. Saturday’s game at Williams began poorly for Amherst, which fell behind 3-0 after the first period. The Jeffs, however

Stellar early season sparks optimism for men's lacrosse

The Jeffs opened their season on Wednesday, March 12, against Bates College. The game was held on the turf of Springfield College to avoid the inevitable snow on the Amherst and Bates campuses. The early-season NESCAC contest posed a danger to the Jeffs, who hadn’t seen much action outdoors. The Jeffs proved up to the challenge, however, bombarding their counterparts from the north with 45 shots en route to an 18-3 season-opening victory. The game started ominously for Amherst, as Bates found t

Men's lacrosse has aspirations of success on national level

The 2002 installment of the Amherst Lord Jeffs finished with a 9-7 record overall, going 5-4 in conference play. They earned the fourth seed in the NESCAC Tournament and won their opening-round playoff game against fifth-ranked Tufts University. But in the semifinal round of the postseason tournament, Amherst’s season came to an end at the hands of perennial NESCAC powerhouse Middlebury College. Middlebury would go on to defeat Bowdoin College and claim their second consecutive conference crown.

Women suffer ugly defeat

Fortunately for the Lord Jeffs, Wesleyan University, Trinity College and Connecticut College went a combined 0-5-1 this weekend, and the playoff race remains tight as ever. The Jeffs are now, after dropping a non-conference game to Plattsburgh State University Saturday night, looking ahead to the three games remaining on their NESCAC schedule. Amherst did manage to keep busy this week, however, with a tough game against Plattsburgh. It was the first home game for the Jeffs in three weeks, but O

Women's hockey tie one, lose two

On Friday night, Amherst traveled to Hartford, Conn. to avenge a Jan. 18 loss to NESCAC foe Trinity College. The Bantams jumped out to an early lead 4:51 into the first period. The score remained 1-0 heading into the second period when co-captain forward Danielle Williams ’03 asserted her senior leadership. She broke through the Bantam defense to score her sixth goal of the season, at 5:09, and then assisted on sophomore Alicia Pichard’s goal just minutes later. Williams has enjoyed a fine seni

Seth Fitzsimmons is one smart cookie

Fitzsimmons, whose legacy at Amherst is great but whose notoriety is muted, is largely responsible for the online playground that is NOTE, the Daily Jolt and Planworld. While many faculty, staff, alumni and parents of the Amherst community may be unfamiliar with the online contributions of Fitzsimmons, not a day goes by without students logging on to some of Fitzsimmons’ creations. Alongside Matt Gordon ’03 and Andrew Goldberg ’03, Fitzsimmons helped implement such mainstays in modern student li

Men's lacrosse takes two of three for share of fifth place

The Jeffs kicked off their busy week with a 13-7 road win over Tufts University last Wednesday. Amherst led by just one goal, 7-6, in the fourth quarter, before pouring it on and securing the win. The Jeffs surged ahead with six of the game’s final seven goals to ensure the 13-7 win. Amherst never trailed in the contest, thanks in large part to freshman goaltender Cushing Donelan’s nine saves. Both midfielder Harlow Voorhees ’02 and attackman Alex Casertano ’05 recorded four goals in the game.

Polar Bears prove too tough for Lord Jeffs in NESCACs

The 6-15-1 (4-11-1) Jeffs started the game skating strong and held the 20-3-1 (13-2-1) Polar Bears scoreless in the first period. Tri-captain goaltender Heidi Alexander ’03 made 10 saves in the first period to keep her team in the game. But Bowdoin was able to break through for the game’s first goal at 7:55 of the second period. The game remained 1-0 for Bowdoin going into the third period, when things got bad for Amherst. Jen Pelkey found the back of the net at 4:56, and then teammate Beth Mui

Despite losses, Jeffs prepare to fight for playoffs

The stretch of 10 games started out well for the Jeffs. They looked sharp against visiting Holy Cross College on Dec. 5, but ultimately dropped the game on a goal by Crusader forward Elizabeth Campbell late in the third period. Two nights later, Amherst traveled to Hartford to take on Trinity College. Once again, the Jeffs let a close game slip out of their grasp, losing 3-2 in overtime. Amherst grabbed the third period lead with goals from Elissa Landes ’04 and tri-captain forward Danielle Wil