AMHERST, MA – Senior co-captain Jess Wall (Glencoe, Ill.) and sophomore Sarah Duffy (Fairfield, Conn.) each netted a score as the Amherst women's soccer team earned a 2-0 shutout win over Middlebury on Hitchcock Field.

With the victory, the Lord Jeffs improved to 3-0 on the young season and 2-0 in NESCAC play, earning sole possession of first-place atop the conference standings. 

Looking to put Amherst ahead early, Kathryn Nathan '13 (Pembroke, Mass.) tested Middlebury's Jocelyn Remmert (Pelham, N.Y.) at 12:59, but the junior goalkeeper recorded the game's first save to keep things scoreless.

The Panthers responded by putting a pair of tries on net over the next couple minutes of action but Amherst's Allie Horwitz (Woodbridge, Conn.) made both stops, keeping pace with her Middlebury counterpart.

Maya Jackson-Gibson '15 (Amherst, N.Y.) put another shot on the Middlebury goal at 21:15, prompting Remmert's second save before the Lord Jeffs won their first corner of the afternoon. Nathan would send the ensuing corner from the right flag into the box, with a bouncing ball eventually finding its way to Wall who slotted it into the net for her second tally of the season.

Buoyed by its first score, Amherst again took advantage of a set piece, with Duffy netting her sixth marker of 2011 on another corner at 30:22, giving the Jeffs a 2-0 margin heading into the intermission.

Stymied by the Jeff defense for much of the second half and still down by two approaching the 80th minute, having been unable to register a shot on goal against a stingy Amherst backline, Middlebury pushed forward, winning their third corner of the day at 79:22.

First-year Clair Nishioka sent in the corner, finding Amy Schlueter '13 (San Francisco, Calif.), who put the Panthers' first shot on net in the second half, but Horwitz snuffed out the attempt, preserving the shutout. 

An aggressive Middlebury side would win two more corners in the 81st minute, but Amherst's defense, anchored by senior co-captains Jill Kochanek (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Allison Dorey (San Francisco, Calif.) held firm, clearing both attempts without allowing a shot.

With time winding down, the Panthers' Scarlett Kirk '14 tested Horwitz one last time, but the steady senior keeper collected her sixth save to secure the win. 

The Woodbridge, Conn. native, who has opened the 2011 campaign with a 249:44 consecutive shutout minutes, now has 13 career shutouts after recording her second clean sheet in as many days. Remmert made five saves in the loss.

Amherst, which held a slight 17-16 edge in shots, returns to action on Thursday, Sept. 22 against Springfield College.