AMHERST, Mass. – Scoring four or more goals for the fourth time this season, the No. 3 Amherst College men's soccer team tallied two unanswered goals in the final 18 minutes of action to claim a 4-2 victory over archrival Williams College in their home opener Saturday afternoon at Hitchcock Field.

"Credit to Williams for playing such a great game," commented head coach Justin Serpone. "Today's match was a classic fitting of a terrific rivalry."

With the win, Amherst improves to 5-0-1 overall and 2-0-1 in NESCAC play, while Williams suffers its first loss of the season and drops to 5-1-1 on the year (2-1-0 NESCAC). Amherst returns to action with a midweek game at MIT on Sept. 28 beginning at 7:30 p.m., while the Ephs travel to Bates for a 3 p.m. matchup on Sept. 25.

"We have to refocus pretty quickly," said Serpone. "Our next two games are on the road against teams (MIT and Tufts) that were in the final 16 of last year's NCAA tournament. This is an important week for us."

Senior Jackson Lehnhart celebrated his return to Hitchcock Field in style, notching two goals in the outing, including the game's opening goal just 1:51 into play. Finding the ball in a scrum near the penalty spot after an attempt by Justin Aoyama '17 was blocked, Lehnhart ripped a shot past the diving Christian Alcorn to give Amherst a 1-0 edge.

Williams nearly evened the score with 27:26 on the clock with Brandon Dory volleying a pass inside the box from Malcolm Singleton off the crossbar.

The Ephs broke through in the 32nd minute to knot the game at 1-1 after an Amherst foul and a free kick by Gregory Andreou from 30 yards out. Gaining positioning, Chris Fleisher headed the free kick to Tobias Muellers who volleyed a shot off the crossbar and over the goal line.

Responding seven minutes later, Bijan Zojaji '20 tallied his second goal of the year to give the Purple & White a 2-1 lead heading into halftime. Taking advantage of their fourth corner kick of the match, Zojaji corralled a bouncing ball in the box and sent a shot into a wide open goal.

Mohammed Rashid logged his team-leading fourth goal of the season 25 seconds into the second half to even the contest at 2-2. Taking a free kick for the Ephs once again, Andreou drove a ball towards goal that volleyed off the foot of Rashid and past the diving Amherst netminder into the lower right corner of the goal.  

Aoyama almost unknotted the score with 25:28 remaining, but his blast from ten yards out rang off the cross bar before being cleared by the Ephs defense.

Lehnhart notched his second goal of the matchup and the game-winner in the 73rd minute after a corner kick led to a scramble in the box. Following several headers back-and-forth between the sides, the ball landed at the feet of Lehnhart who sent a shot off a defender and into the netting to regain an Amherst lead.  

In an impressive defensive play, Eph goalie Christian Alcorn kept the Williams deficit at one with 9:25 to play, coming out to the 18-yard line to smother an Amherst shot on a 2-v-1 opportunity.

Weller Hlinomaz '18 added a Purple & White insurance tally with 5:39 remaining, collecting a pass from Christopher Martin '17 at the top right of the box and powering a shot into the upper left hand corner of the goal.

GAME NOTES

• Lee Owen '18 (5-0-1) registered five saves in the winning effort in goal for the Purple & White, while Christian Alcorn (5-0-1) made three saves in the loss.
• Williams edged Amherst in shots, 18-12, while the Purple & White held a slight advantage in corner kicks, 5-4.
• Martin led Amherst in shots with four, while a trio of Purple & White players took two shots each.
• J.C. Bahr de Stefano led all players with four shots in the matchup, while Tobias Muellers led the Ephs in shots on goal with three.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• With the victory, Amherst now boasts an 8-2-4 record against the Ephs, including a pair of NESCAC title wins during head coach Justin Serpone's 10 seasons at the helm.
• Welcoming back dozens of alumni, family, and friends of the program to today's game to celebrate men's soccer's return to Hitchcock Field for the first time since clinching the 2015 NCAA National title, Serpone noted, "What made me most happy was seeing the generations of Amherst soccer alumni all in one place."