Courtesy Amherst Sports Information

Box Score

AMHERST, Mass. – The Amherst College women’s soccer team earned a 1-0 victory over Wesleyan University in the quarterfinal round of the 2008 NESCAC Championship. The second-seeded Lord Jeffs (10-1-3/7-0-2 NESCAC) increased their unbeaten streak to 13 games and will take on third-seeded Middlebury College Saturday, Nov. 8 at top-seeded Williams at 1:30 p.m. The seventh-seeded Cardinals finish their season at 7-6-1 (3-5-1 NESCAC).

The Lord Jeffs controlled the tempo for the majority of the first half, out-shooting Wesleyan 13-3 and winning the corner kick battle, 6-0, but they could not get any significant scoring chances early on. The Cardinals earned a free kick from 25 yards out in the 28th minute, but first-year Allie Horwitz (Woodbridge, Conn.) came up with a save when a shot from sophomore Cora Lautze (San Francisco, Calif.) made its way past a wall of Amherst defenders.

Amherst’s best scoring chance of the half came five minutes later when a corner kick from senior quad-captain Kate Moriarty (Westminster, Mass.) made its way to first-year Jess Wall (Glencoe, Ill.), whose header rocketed off the right post. The ball bounced back into the box, but the Jeffs could not break the scoreless tie.

The Cardinals’ best chance of the day came with just four minutes remaining in the first half, when first-year Emma Nitzberg (Summit, N.J.) found herself on a breakaway with Amherst first-year Jill Kochanek (Pittsburgh, Pa.) nipping at her heels. Nitzberg managed to put a solid shot on net, but Horwitz dropped to her right and made a huge stop to preserve the tie. Horwitz and first-year Clare Colton (Montclair, N.J.) each made two saves in the first half.

The game’s lone goal came in the 61st minute on a corner kick. Moriarty played a great ball into the box, and it was cleared out to junior Meg Murphy (Springfield, Mass.). Murphy ripped a shot that was headed for the net, but it was knocked away by a Wesleyan defender. First-year Livia Rizzo (Dover, Mass.) was there for the rebound, as she snuck a shot underneath the crossbar to give the Jeffs a 1-0 lead with nearly 30 minutes remaining in regulation.

Amherst kept the pressure on and continued to dominate possession until the final whistle, nearly adding insurance goals off a series of corner kicks in the final four minutes. Amherst out-shot Wesleyan 30-3 and took 15 corner kicks compared the Cardinals’ one, with Horwitz stopping two shots and Colton making five saves.