AMHERST, Mass. – Tenth-Ranked Amherst used a brilliant goal from Christopher Martin '17 early in the second half to help lift the Jeffs to a 1-0 victory over Bates on Sunday afternoon's NESCAC men's soccer game at Hitchcock Field.

With the win, Amherst improves to 5-0-2 overall, 4-0-2 in NESCAC play. The Purple & White has now extended its unbeaten streak in conference play to 26 games. Bates moves to 1-7-1 overall, 1-5-0 in league action.

After a scoreless first period which saw Amherst control the run of play, outshooting the Bobcats 11-3, the Jeffs broke the scoreless deadlock when Nico Pascual-Leone '16 intercepted a throw-in, dribbled into the box, and delivered a sensation cross to Martin who came sprinting in and finished with his second goal of the season to give Amherst a 1-0 lead.

That was all the Jeffs needed as stellar play from the backline, which included Justin Aoyama '17, Bryce Ciambella '18, Rohan Sood '17 and senior captain Gabriel Wirz, was able to thwart Bates' offensive outbreaks.

Thomas Bull '16 recorded his third clean sheet of the season, making two saves in the process.

Amherst held a 26-8 advantage in shots, led by six blasts from Jae Heo '15 and five from Martin. Bobcats' goalkeeper Sam Polito turned away nine of the Jeffs' 10 shots on target.

The Purple & White also enjoyed a 10-2 differential in corner kicks, and almost netted a goal from the set piece when a loose ball following a Heo shot was blasted off the cross bar by Greg Singer '16 midway through the first stanza.

Amherst returns to non-league action on Wednesday, Oct. 1 when it squares off against Western New England at 7 p.m. at Lusitano Stadium in Ludlow, Mass. Admission to the event is free, and fans are asked to donate a minimum of $5 with all gate proceeds going to the benefit the Western Mass. Food Bank.