AMHERST, Mass. – First-year Bob Gross scored a career-best six goals, including the game-winner, as the Amherst College men's lacrosse team earned a thrilling 18-16 win over Bowdoin College in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC Championship on Saturday afternoon on Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium.

The fourth-seeded Mammoths, ranked 10th in the nation in the latest USILA Division III poll, improved to 11-4 on the season and advance to face undefeated Tufts in the NESCAC semifinals at noon on Saturday (May 6) in Medford.

The fifth-seeded Polar Bears, ranked ninth in the nation, fall to 11-5 and will wait to see if they are selected for the NCAA Tournament.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* After senior attack Tanyr Krummenacher opened the scoring, the Polar Bears scored three straight to take a 3-1 lead. Amherst junior attack Jake Bennett and Bowdoin junior midfielder Oliver Bernstein traded goals before Gross and Krummenacher scored for the Mammoths to tie the game at 4-4 at the end of the first quarter.

* Bernstein scored again a minute into the second quarter to put the Polar Bears back on top, but the Mammoths answered with a run of four straight goals over the next three minutes. Bennett tied the game at 5-5 before junior midfielder Connor Guest put the Mammoths ahead with his eighth goal of the season and senior defenseman Robinson Armour followed 10 seconds later. Senior midfielder Matt Adams gave the Mammoths an 8-5 lead with his 27th goal of the season with 10:48 to go in the second.

* The Polar Bears netted two more before Gross scored with 9.8 seconds to go in the second quarter, giving the Mammoths a 9-7 halftime lead.

* Bowdoin scored the first three goals of the third period to pull back ahead with a pair of goals from junior midfielder Zack Goorno before sophomore attack Jason Lach gave the Polar Bears a 10-9 lead.

* Gross scored his third goal of the game to knot the score at 10-10 before junior midfielder Harp Lane gave the Polar Bears the lead with 3:53 to play in the third.

* Lach and Gross traded goals six seconds apart late in the third and the Polar Bears had a 12-11 edge going into the final quarter.

* Lach scored a man-up goal eight seconds into the fourth quarter but Gross answered again a minute later and Armour tied the game at 13-13 with just under 10 minutes to play.

* Junior attack Matt Ward gave the Polar Bears the lead and a goal from sophomore attack Patrick Fitzgerald made it a two-goal lead for Bowdoin with six minutes to play.

* Senior midfielder Bayard DeMallie struck for his 34th goal of the season with 5:57 to play and sophomore Nicholas Kopp won the ensuing face-off and went straight to goal, scoring his sixth of the season to even the score at 15-15.

* Ward scored to give the Polar Bears the lead with 4:08 on the clock but the Mammoths got a man-up opportunity on the next possession and sophomore attack Alex Giacobbe scored just 25 seconds after Ward's goal to tie the game again at 16-16 and set up another fantastic finish between these two NESCAC rivals.

* The game-winning goal came with 1:35 to play. The Mammoths were dispossessed in front of the Bowdoin goal and in the midst of a fierce battle for the loose ball, Gross scooped it up and flicked it in behind his back to give the Mammoths the lead with his sixth goal of the game.

* Giacobbe added one more goal in the final minute to seal the victory.



BY THE NUMBERS:

* Gross set a new career high with six goals and added an assist for the fourth seven-point game of his rookie campaign. Lach – high school teammates with Gross at Washington's St. Albans School – led the Polar Bears with five goals.

* Bennett tallied two goals and two assists for the Mammoths, his seventh straight multi-point game.

* Krummenacher scored two goals and added an assist, extending his goal-scoring streak to 23 games dating back to last season.

* Armour also notched two goals and an assist for his first career multi-goal game in what could be his final home game.

* The Polar Bears outshot the Mammoths, 49-39, but sophomore Mitch Likins made 14 saves in goal for Amherst to earn the win.

* The Mammoths held a 40-35 advantage in ground balls while the Polar Bears won 21 of 27 face-offs with junior Ethan Barnard handing duties at the X for Bowdoin and picking up a game-high 10 ground balls.