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Rams Square Off against Amherst in NCAA's
#9 Amherst College - 4, Farmingdale State - 0
Springfield, Mass. -
Farmingdale State squared off against 9th ranked Amherst College
(12-2-3) today in the First Round of the NCAA Division III Women's
Soccer Championship. The Rams gave Amherst a game, trailing 1-0 at
the half, but fell 4-0, ending their season with an overall record
of 12-10.
In a game which featured heavy rains and a 30-minute stoppage of
play due to lighting, the Farmingdale State Rams geared up to play
the Amherst College "Lord Jeffs" at host site Springfield College
in Springfield, Massachusetts. With six freshmen and one senior in
the starting lineup today, the Rams came out for one of their best
games of the season against the talented Amherst squad.
Amherst scored 6:35 into the first half on a fast break, as Livia
Rizzo (Dover, Mass.) chased down a through pass up the left side
and just before going out the end line sent a pass across to
teammate Jackie Hirsch (Wilmette, Ill.), who knocked the ball in
for the 1-0 advantage. The Lord Ephs controlled most of the first
half with a 16-1 shot advantage, but Farmingdale continued to
pressure throughout and would trail by just one at the half.
Early in the second, Rams junior midfielder Tricia Pickford
(Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) took a shot that missed the goal by a
few inches, a close call for Amherst, and shortly after the game
went into a lighting delay.
Amherst came out of the delay regrouped and with 27:49 remaining
in the game, junior midfielder Meg Murphy (Springfield, Mass.) gave
her team a 2-0 lead, sending home a free kick from the top of the
box.
Farmingdale's best chance came with 19 minutes remaining, as
freshman Katrina Cerverizzo (Center Moriches, N.Y./Center Moriches)
sent a free kick from 25 yards out around the wall, but freshman
goalkeeper Allie Horwitz (Woodbridge, Conn.) made the sliding
save.
The Lord Jeffs would take that save down the left side for their
third goal of the game and would score another with 59 seconds
remaining to close out the 4-0 victory.
Freshman goalkeeper Amanda Maass (Mastic Beach, N.Y./William
Floyd) had a great game making 10 saves in defeat. Senior captain
and defender Kaitlin O'Brien (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) played
in her final game for the Rams. O'Brien, a four-year captain and
two-time All-Conference selection, started 78-of-79 career games
with the team and helped her team to two straight Conference Titles
and two NCAA appearances.
Farmingdale State will now focus on 2009 and building upon their
already thriving young roster.
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