Box Score AMHERST, Mass. – Bryce Ciambella '17 tallied the game's lone goal in the 41st minute, as the No. 11 Amherst College men's soccer team edged Colby College, 1-0 Saturday afternoon at Hitchcock Field.
With the win, Amherst improves to 11-1-1 overall and to 6-1-1 in league play, while Colby falls to 4-7-2 on the season (1-5-2 NESCAC). Amherst returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 22 when they travel to Little III rival Wesleyan University for a conference tilt beginning at 2:30 p.m., while the Mules return home to take on Hamilton on Oct. 22 at 1:30 p.m.
Ciambella nearly gave the Purple & White a 1-0 edge ten minutes into the outing, as he found space and drove a shot from 18 yards out towards net, but he attempt sailed wide right.
Responding with an offensive opportunity of their own, Chandler Smith ran onto a leading pass and juked a defender with 24:16 on the clock, but Fikayo Ajayi '19 regained defensive positioning as Smith released a shot from inside the top left of the box and deflected the ball safely out of bounds.
Holding momentum, Brandon Fahlberg launched a hard shot from 30 yards out towards goal four minutes later, but the attempt went inches wide of the net.
Amherst tallied the game's lone goal with 3:30 remaining in the opening half to help the Purple & White secure the 1-0 victory. Dribbling through two defenders to get inside of the box, Ciambella ripped a shot across the field and into the bottom right corner of the goal.
Avery Gibson and Smith each made key defensive plays to keep the Mule's deficit at one 2:32 into the second half. Following an Amherst corner, Gibson made an athletic save on a shot attempt by Jackson Lehnhart '17, however he was unable to gather the rebound as the ball bounced back into the field of play. Finding the ball in a scrum in front of the goal, Andrew Orozco '17 attempted to extend the Purple & White's lead to two, but Smith was positioned on the goal line and recorded a defensive save.
Returning the favor four minutes later, Lee Owen '18 notched an impressive save of his own to thwart Jansen Aoyoma's attempt at knotting the score. Ripping a shot on target from the top of the box after a pinpoint pass from midfield, Owen was up to the task, diving to his right and smothering the ball.
Colby earned one final opportunity to even the score with 3:11 remaining in the game, but Lucas Pereira sent his shot inches wide right of the goal.
GAME NOTES
- Lee Owen '18 (10-1-1) registered two saves in the winning effort, while Avery Gibson (2-6-2) made six saves in goal in the loss.
- Amherst owned a 20-7 edge in shot differential, and a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks.
- Colby was whistled for 13 infractions, while the Purple & White finished the outing with 15 fouls.
- Christopher Martin '17 led all players with five shots in the matchup, while Ciambella took four shots for Amherst.
- Jacob Tower led the Mules with two shots, while five other Colby players each attempted one shot each.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Today's game marked Senior Day for 10 Amherst College men's soccer student-athletes: Cameron Bean, Andrew Orozco, Douglass Jamison, Christopher Martin, Jackson Lehnhart, Rohan Sood, David Lander, Justin Aoyama, Bryce Ciambella, and Forest Sisk.
- As a class, this year's seniors have amassed a stellar 60-4-11 overall record since 2013, including an impressive 28-2-2 mark at Hitchcock Field and a 29-2-6 record in league play, and currently boasts a .873 overall winning percentage. The Purple & White won the league crown in 2013, and made appearances in the Elite 8 and Sweet 16 before capturing the program's first ever NCAA Championship title in 2015.
