No. 4 Amherst Staves off Late Rally, Downs Bowdoin, 10-7

BRUNSWICK, Maine – The No. 4 Amherst College men's lacrosse team used two goals each from Dylan Park '16 and Kane Haffey '16, and the Purple & White held off a fourth-quarter rally by Bowdoin College to seal a 10-7 victory over the Polar Bears in Saturday afternoon's 2016 season and NESCAC opener at Ryan Field in Brunswick, Maine.

RECORDS
Amherst (1-0, 1-0 NESCAC)
Bowdoin (0-1, 0-1 NESCAC)

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• Amherst ran out to a fast start netting five unanswered goals in the first period.
• Haffey notched his first of the campaign on a feed from Quinn Moroney '16 at the 12:36 mark, before Max Keeley '18 put the Purple & White ahead, 2-0 at the 8:28 mark with an unassisted score.
• The Purple & White then struck on the man-advantage as Haffey powered in his second tally of the frame, with 4:53 on the clock. Just under a minute later, Matt Killian '16 notched his first of the season to make it 4-0.
• Chris Albanese '17 scored his first of 2016 with 1:28 left in the first quarter to help life Amherst to a 5-0 advantage after 15 minutes of action.
• In the second quarter, neither team registered a goal as Amherst goalie Cody Tranbarger '17 and Bowdoin net-minder Peter Mumford combined for 10 saves with Mumford making six for the Polar Bears.

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• The third frame saw both teams score twice as Brandon Lee put the hosts on the board at the 13:17 mark to make it 5-1.
• Moroney set up Park with an extra-man score with 10:33 on the clock to give Purple & White a 6-1 edge, but it was cut to 6-2 following Lee's second goal of the period less than a minute later. Matthew Crowell registered the helper on the goal.
• With 2:07 left in the third quarter, Park delivered his second goal of the stanza, and again on the man-advantage, following a dish from Connor Sheehan '18 to set the score at 7-2 after three periods of play.
• In a frenzied fourth period, Moroney scored on a pass from Haffey at the 12:00 mark, and Charlie Gill '16 fired in an unassisted marker with 7:08 to play to increase Amherst's lead to 9-2, before Bowdoin responded scoring three straight goals and five of the final six goals of the contest.
• Tim Bulens scored the first of the Polar Bears' next five goals, followed by Brett Kujala and Shawn Daly. Clayton Wright, Daly and Brandon Rothman notched the helpers on each goal to set the score at 9-5 in favor of the Purple & White with 3:20 to play in the game.
• Evan Wolf '19 came through with his first collegiate goal with 1:59 remaining in regulation following a feed from Park to set the score at 10-5, before Sam Carlin and Crowell each found the back of the cage in a 51 second span to set the score at 10-7.
• Bowdoin had an extra man opportunity with time expiring in the fourth quarter, but a clutch Tranbarger save on a Crowell shot, allowed Amherst to clinch the 10-7 triumph.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Wolf and Haffey led Amherst with six and five shots on goal apiece, while Tranbarger led the Purple & White with four ground ball pickups. Connor Crump '16, and Ryan Cassidy '16 caused two turnovers each, while Jordan Sanford '18 added three.
• Austin Park '19 was 4-for-9 at the faceoff dot, while Tranbarger finished with 12 saves.
• Bowdoin received four shots on goal from Lee, Daly, and Crowell, while Carlin was 15-for-21 in faceoffs, and picked up a game-high nine ground balls.
• Mumford finished with 13 saves in the losing effort for the Polar Bears.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The win was the first over Bowdoin in Brunswick, Maine since the 2011 season when Amherst defeated the Polar Bears, 13-10. The Purple & White posted a 14-12 win over Bowdoin the following year during their Spring Break Trip to Florida.

UP NEXT

• Amherst opens its home slate Tuesday, March 8 when it hosts Skidmore College at 5 p.m. at Pratt Field in non-league action.
• Bowdoin hosts Williams College in its next outing Saturday, March 12 at 1 p.m. at Ryan Field.