AMHERST, Mass. - The top-seeded Amherst women's soccer team netted three second half goals en route to a 3-0 shutout of No. 5 Wesleyan in a NESCAC Championship semifinal on Hitchcock Field. With the win, the Lord Jeffs improved to 16-0-0 on the season, while the Cardinals fell to 9-6-1 on the year.
Amherst will face Williams in Sunday's championship, setting up a rematch of last year's final, which the Ephs won 1-0. Battling second-seeded Middlebury to a 0-0 double-overtime draw, Williams advanced to its fifth-consecutive NESCAC final thanks to a 5-4 edge in penalty kicks.
After the Cardinals had a would-be, go-ahead goal negated by an offside call in the seventh minute, Amherst senior Allison Dorey (San Francisco, Calif.) put the Jeffs' first shot on net, prompting a Jessica Tollman '15 save.
Receiving a Dorey cross from the right side in the 21st minute, first-year Mel Stier (Deerfield, Mass.) against tested Wesleyan's rookie keeper, but Tollman proved up to the challenge recording her second stop.
Controlling much of the possession for the remainder of the half, Amherst continued to apply pressure, outshooting the Cardinals 9-0 over the final 24 minutes but Tollman made five saves during that span to keep Wesleyan level.
Continuing to push forward, Amherst wasted no time getting on the board to start the second, finally breaking through in the 49th minute. Sending a cross into the center of the box, junior Sandy Shepherd (Coronado, Calif.) found sophomore Chloe McKenzie (Upper Marlboro, Md.) who won the ball in the air, heading the pass into the back of the Wesleyan net at 48:27.
Looking to add to their tally, the Jeffs forced Tollman to make three more saves over the next 21 minutes before netting their second score at 69:39. Dribbling past a pair of defenders on the right side before serving a cross into the box, Stier found the foot of fellow first-year Emma Rothkopf (Harvard, Mass.) who one-timed it past the busy Cardinal netminder for her first collegiate goal.
Just under 10 minutes later, Amherst buried its third marker when Emily Little (Sherborn, Mass.) alertly slotted the rebound off a Sarah Duffy '14 (Fairfield, Conn.) shot into the goal for her third tally of the season.
Amherst finished with a decisive 28-6 shot advantage and a 5-0 edge in corners. Playing behind a disciplined backline, Amherst senior goalkeeper Allie Horwitz (Woodbridge, Conn.) needed to make just one save en route to her 16th victory while Tollman made 11 stops in the loss.
