AMHERST, Mass. – In a back-and-forth game in which both offenses were firing on all cylinders, Tufts University came away with a 23-21 win over the Amherst College men's lacrosse team in NESCAC action on Saturday at Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium.

The defending NESCAC champion Jumbos, ranked fourth in the nation in the latest USILA Division III poll, survived their stiffest test yet to improve to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in NESCAC play, while the 13th-ranked Mammoths suffered their first loss of the season, falling to 1-1 overall, with both games thus far in conference play.

The Mammoths are back in action on Friday (March 17) at 11 a.m., facing Bates for a NESCAC clash in Owings Mills, Maryland, at Stevenson University's Mustang Classic.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* The first quarter was all offense as the two sides went back and forth, lighting up the scoreboard. Senior attack Brock Gonzalez and junior attack Jake Bennett struck first to give the Mammoths a 2-0 lead but the Jumbos responded with goals from sophomore defenseman Michael Ayers and first-year midfielder Jack Regnery.

* Senior midfielders Matt Adams and Bayard DeMallie restored a two-goal lead for the Mammoths but the Jumbos came right back with tallies from senior midfielder Joe Murtha and sophomore midfielder Charlie Tagliaferri.

* The two teams once again traded two goals each with senior attack Tanyr Krummenacher scoring twice only to see first-year midfielder Ben Frisoli and Ayers level the score at 6-6 with 6:25 to play in the first quarter.

* DeMallie scored a man-up goal to put the Mammoths back on top and first-year attack Bob Gross netted his first collegiate goal to give Amherst a 8-6 lead less than 10 minutes into the game.

* The torrid offensive pace slowed a bit from there but those two goals kicked off a string of five straight Amherst tallies that stretched into the second quarter, putting the Mammoths up 11-6 when DeMallie scored with 6:29 on the clock in the second.

* The Jumbos used a run of six straight goals spanning halftime to reclaim the lead. After Tufts scored the final four goals of the second quarter to send the game to halftime with a 12-11 Amherst lead, senior attack Kurt Bruun scored two goals six seconds apart to put the Jumbos up by one.

* DeMallie scored a man-up goal for the Mammoths to level the score at 13-13 before senior midfielder Jack Boyden put the Jumbos back up by one.

* DeMallie struck again to tie the score at 14-14 and Adams gave the Mammoths the lead a minute later.

* The Jumbos answered again as senior attack Tommy Swank leveled the score and Murtha put Tufts back on top with a man-up tally.

* Sophomore attack Dylan Hsu scored a man-up goal to bring the Mammoths level at 16-16 before Ayers put Tufts back on top.

* Back-to-back Amherst goals from Krummenacher and DeMallie swung the lead back to the Mammoths before sophomore midfielder Sam Frisoli scored for Tufts to send the game into the fourth quarter tied at 18-18.

* Boyden opened the fourth-quarter scoring to put Tufts back up by one, but sophomore attack Alex Giacobbe scored a man-up goal to tie the game again and Krummenacher put the Mammoths up by one with a goal nine seconds later.

* Swank scored a man-up goal for Tufts to tie the game and Bruun's tally with 5:33 to play put the Jumbos on top, kicking off a string of four unanswered Tufts goals that put the game out of reach.

BY THE NUMBERS:

* DeMallie scored a career-best six goals and added an assist to lead the Mammoths in scoring. Krummenacher added four goals and two assists, while Adams and Gross each netted hat tricks.

* Boyden and Ayers each scored four goals for the Jumbos, while Boyden added nine assists.

* The Jumbos held a 71-57 advantage in shots as junior netminder Connor Garzone made 20 saves to earn the win.

* Tufts had a 27-19 edge in face-offs.