Connecticut College Sports Roundup

A goal in the final minutes of Wednesday's men's soccer game against Amherst College launched the Camels to victory over the previously undefeated Jeffs. Amherst was luckier in women's soccer and field hockey games, blanking Connecticut College in each. The Camels also had a volleyball win over cross-town rivals . The following information was provided by William Tomasian, sports information director at Connecticut College.

Men's Soccer: Conn College 3, Amherst 2

The Connecticut College men's soccer team has stunned fifth ranked and previously undefeated Amherst College with a dramatic 3-2 victory. Kevin O'Brien tallied two scores and put in the difference making goal in the 87th minute of action to lift the Camels to the victory.

Sophomore Casey Marini collected 10 saves and made a game-saving stab on a penalty kick in the 88th minute to protect the lead.

The Camels had not defeated an opponent ranked in the top five since September of 2009, when they knocked off a second ranked Amherst College team in New London, 4-1.

"This was a tremendous team effort for us," Head Coach Kenny Murphy said. "All of the forwards played well. To cap off the regular season with a win like this was special. We are really excited for Saturday's game at Trinity."

Amherst came from behind to tie the score at 1-1 late in the first half and again at 2-2 late in the second, but O'Brien gave the lead back to the Camels at 86:20. Spencer Noon '13 lined up for a penalty shot in the 88th minute, but Marini made a diving stop and preserved the win, finishing his outstanding performance with 10 saves.

Despite the loss, Amherst (11-1-2, 7-1-2 NESCAC) earned the No. 1 seed in the upcoming NESCAC Championship and will host eighth-seeded Colby College this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Connecticut College (9-4-1, 5-4-1) finished the regular season as the sixth seed and will travel to take on third-seeded Trinity on Saturday.

Oscar Brown '12 put the wheels in motion on the Camels' first goal when he beat his defender along the right side with some fancy dribbling. Brown then passed the ball into the box and found O'Brien, who ran on and pushed a shot past goalkeeper Lennard Kovacs '12 for a 1-0 lead with 32:35 remaining in the first half.

Amherst's best chance of the opening 30 minutes came when Alejandro Sucre '13 dropped a pass back to Noon, who popped the ball up to himself, turned to his right and volleyed a shot toward the upper 90 of Marini's goal. Noon's attempt was nearly perfect, but Marini made a great save by punching the ball over the net.

The Jeffs hit the post in the 34th and 38th minutes and would finally break through with a tying goal at 39:35. Sucre took the ball away from a Connecticut defender on the left sideline, dribbled ahead and sent a cross to the middle of the field. Milton Rico '15 ran onto the ball but purposely let it pass between his legs, allowing Mike Hoeksema '15 to rip a low one-timer past Marini, closing out the first-half scoring with the teams knotted at 1-1.

The Camels regained the lead less than five minutes into the second half when a miscue by the Amherst defense led to an own-goal. The ball was played in from the right sideline and bounced into the box, deflecting off a Lord Jeff defender for a go-ahead goal that caught everyone off guard with 40:09 remaining. Amherst hit the crossbar five minutes later and soon appeared to record the tying goal on a header from Julien Aoyama '14, but the Jeffs were whistled for off-sides. The Camels had another good opportunity on a quick counterattack, but a shot from Billy Hawkey '14 was knocked away by Kovacs, marking his lone save of the afternoon.

The Jeffs finally found a solution for Marini in the second half when Sucre played a ball into the box from the left side, allowing Casey McNamara '13 to run on and pound a one-timer into the back of the net with 11:13 to go.

Amherst had all of the momentum heading into the waning moments of the second half, but O'Brien capped off his impressive day when he took a pass from Winslow Murdoch '13, got himself free despite being out-numbered deep in the Lord Jeff end, and lofted a shot past Kovacs for a go-ahead goal with only 3:40 on the clock.

Amherst was given a chance to tie the game for a third time when the Camels were called for a hand ball in the box, but Noon's attempt was corralled by Marini without a rebound attempt. The Camels held on in the final two minutes and prevented the Jeffs from posting what would have been the program's first unbeaten regular season since 1960.

The hosts held a 22-7 advantage in shots and an 8-2 edge in corners, but Marini proved to be the difference maker. Connecticut College has now defeated Amherst in three of the past four meetings, with Wednesday's result arguably being the most significant of the three, as the Jeffs began the week ranked fifth in all of Division III.

Women's Soccer: Amherst 4, Conn College 0

Netting a pair of goals in the first 23 minutes, the eighth-ranked Amherst women's soccer team remained unbeaten, closing out the regular season with a 4-0 win over visiting Connecticut College.

Extending their win-streak to a program record 14 games, the Jeffs are now 6-0-1 against the Camels in the last seven meetings. The conference's top seed at 14-0-0 (9-0-0 NESCAC), Amherst will host Bowdoin at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29 in a quarterfinal matchup on Hitchcock Field.

Hoping to get off to a fast start, Connecticut College junior midfielder Ali McKeigue received the ball on the left side of the Amherst 18 less than three minutes after the opening whistle. Turning to goal, the Arlington, Mass. Native ripped a rising shot that rattled off the crossbar, narrowly missing a chance to put the Camels on top.

Moments later, Amherst went on the offensive, with Chloe McKenzie '14 (Upper Marlboro, Md.) making a run down the far side before firing a shot just high of goal. Continuing to apply pressure, Sarah Duffy '14 (Fairfield, Con.) sailed another shot high at 3:43 as the Jeffs began to control possession in the attacking third.

Still searching for their first score in the fifth minute, Duffy tracked down a loose ball inside the six-yard box before blasting a shot from point blank range that prompted a diving Natalie Signor '15 save. An active Duffy generated another scoring opportunity less than two minutes later, centering a low cross into the box toward first-year Mel Stier (Deerfield, Mass.) on the far post, but senior defender Kate Driscoll (Peabody, Mass.) cleared the ball at the last second to deny the charging forward a chance at an open net.

A persistent Amherst attack finally broke through in the 14th minute. Heading toward the near corner, McKenzie played a cross across the face of the goal, finding the feet of junior Kathryn Nathan (Pembroke, Mass.). Taking a quick touch to avoid Signor, Nathan slotted the ball inside the right post at 13:48 to put the Jeffs on the board.

Looking to add to their lead in the 23rd minute Amherst won a corner to the right of the Camel goal. Playing it short, Nathan found senior Allison Dorey (San Francisco, Calif.), who swung a cross into the middle of the box. Winning the ball in the air, Duffy headed it into the back of the Conn. College netting for her team-high 12th marker of the year.

Earning another set piece with a corner from the left flag in the 31st minute, Jill Kochanek (Pittsburgh, Pa.) headed the ball on net, resulting in another Signor stop. Unable to control the rebound, the busy keeper needed to make another save on Duffy's sliding attempt to keep the Camels within two.

Later in the frame, after Signor beat out an oncoming Amanda Brisco '14 (Houston, Texas) to a long ball at the top of the 18, Connecticut College switched fields hoping to generate a couple of scoring chances.

Following an Amherst foul in the 35th minute, Driscoll fired a shot that got blocked down by the Jeff defense. Off of another foul minutes later, first-year Emma Stacey looked to momentarily have a clear path on net, but an alert Amherst backline again blocked down the try before it could threaten the Jeff goal, preserving the 2-0 lead heading into the intermission.

Hoping to put the game away, Amherst came out firing to start the second, burying another goal less than five minutes into the stanza. Playing on the right side, Duffy sent a cross into the middle of the box to junior Emily Little (Sherborn, Mass.), who tapped home the Jeff's third goal at 49:18.

After almost adding to their total with several close calls over the next half hour, Amherst capped off scoring with just under 14 to go when Sara Abrahams '14 (Williamsburg, Va.) headed in a Kate Sisk '14 (Sudbury, Mass.) cross for her first career score.

Surrendering just three shots in each half, the Jeffs finished with a decisive 30-6 shot advantage and a 11-2 edge in corners. Amherst senior goalkeeper Allie Horwitz (Woodbridge, Conn.) only had to make one save en route to her 14th win of the season, while Signor made 11 stops in the loss.

Camel Tracks (Not Including Wednesday's Action): First year forward Grace Bilodeau (Harvard, Mass.) is tied for sixth place in the NESCAC with six goals scored and ranks ninth in the conference with 12 points.

Rookie net-minder Natalie Signor has stopped 60 shots to rank fourth in the conference. Senior Brigi Palatino (Ludlow, Mass.) scored her second goal of the season in a 2-1 loss to Wesleyan Thursday.

Field Hockey: Amherst 3, Conn College 0

Katie McMahon '13 had a hand in three goals and Sarah McCarrick '12 scored two of her own to lead the Amherst College field hockey team during a 3-0 win over Connecticut College Wednesday evening at Gooding Field.

Tenth-ranked Amherst controlled the majority of Wednesday's game but managed only one goal in the first 65 minutes thanks to an outstanding performance by Connecticut first-year goalkeeper Becca Napolitano. The Jeffs held a 29-7 advantage in shots and a 17-1 edge in corners on the evening, as Napolitano kept her team in the game by making 21 saves.

McMahon became Amherst's all-time leader in assists when she set up the game's first goal early in the opening half. The junior forward sent her penalty corner to Carly Dudzik '12, who stopped the ball dead in its tracks for McCarrick to crush a shot inside the near post with 27:16 on the clock. McMahon's 28th career assist moved her ahead of Christine Ryan '04, who had 27 helpers as a Lord Jeff.

Napolitano came up with 12 saves in the first half, including two spectacular stops in the final two minutes. After she reached back to knock away a deflection attempt by Chrissy Cantore '12, Napolitano made a leaping save when she jumped toward the cage and knocked the ball out of mid-air way with her stick, keeping her team's deficit at one goal heading into halftime. The second half was much of the same, with Amherst controlling the pace of play and Napolitano keeping the Camels within striking distance.

The visitors nearly found the equalizer when Ali Holland '13 dribbled into the Amherst zone on a counterattack midway through the half, but her shot was pulled wide. Five minutes later the Camels had another chance, but Jennifer Morgan '15 hit the outside of the cage. Amherst first-year goalkeeper Rachel Tannenbaum came up with a big save of her own when she denied Paige Murray '14 with a diving stop to her right after a penalty corner.

With seven minutes to play Morgan's coast-to-coast bid came to a halt when Stephanie Clegg '12 came up with a stop for the Lord Jeff defense. The hosts finally broke things open with two goals in the final five minutes of regulation. McMahon pushed the lead to 2-0 when she finished off a pass from Cantore at 65:21, and 2:31 later the Jeffs closed out the scoring with another McMahon-Dudzik-McCarrick connection on a penalty corner.

Volleyball: Conn College 3, Mitchell 0

The Connecticut College volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 victory against Mitchell College in a non-conference match played at Luce Field House Wednesday night.

The game scores were 25-10, 25-16 and 25-9 in favor of the hosts. The Camels, ranked #7 in New England, improve to 17-7. The Mariners slip to 6-11.

Junior setter Katie Ketcham (San Francisco, Calif.) dished out 24 assists and buried four kills without recording an error. Georgia Naumann (Medfield, Mass.) chipped in with five kills for the winning side.

Calli Stavola (Montauk, N.Y.) contributed three kills and one block for the Camels. Ally Terlizzi (Mount Kisco, N.Y.) finished with five digs in the triumph.

Mitchell College sophomore Gloria Charles (New Haven, Conn.) buried three kills without recording an error. Brittany Zaccaria (White Plains, N.Y.) chipped in with 12 digs for the Mariners.

Junior libero Arianna Thomas (Fresno, Calif.) registered 24 digs and three kills. Nicole Terni of Ledyard added 12 assists, five digs and one service ace for the Mariners.