CLINTON, NY. – An 85^th minute game-winner from senior captain Niall Murphy got the No. 12-ranked Amherst College men's soccer team back to winning ways on Saturday, Oct. 12. Taking on NESCAC foe Hamilton in an afternoon matchup, the Mammoths responded well to a late Continentals goal to take a 2-1 victory home to the Pioneer Valley.
 
Of the win, Head Coach Justin Serpone said, "That was a heck of a response by our guys after the game went 1-1.  I thought we refocused quickly and Mo [Nuhu] played a good ball to Niall [Murphy] who did well to score. Hamilton was great today and gave us everything we could handle. It was Senior Day for them and that's a special group of Hamilton seniors. A lot of those guys have started for the past four years and have had a ton of success." 

With the win, the Mammoths improve to 9-2-2 this season, while Hamilton drops to 5-5-3 in 2024. Amherst has a week off before playing their next game on the day of Homecoming, Saturday Oct. 26. They will face Bowdoin in their final NESCAC home contest of the regular season, with kickoff scheduled for 2:30pm.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
 
* Amherst came out of the gates firing, spending the majority of the first half on their opponent's side of the field. Their best chance of the opening 20 minutes came at the 25-minute mark, with Mohammed Nuhu driving down the left side of the field and firing a quick outside-footed shot that initially went through the Continentals keeper's legs; the Hamilton netminder was able to collect the ball before it crossed the line, though.
 
* The Mammoths' offensive pressure paid off with 20 minutes to go in the first half. A free kick just beyond half-field was taken quickly to Nuhu driving down the right sideline. He completed a quick give-and-go with Ben Clark-Eden, whose chipped return ball found the sophomore in stride. Nuhu laid a perfect ball up for an onrushing Fynn Hayton-Ruffner. The senior made no mistake, heading the lobbed pass past the Hamilton keeper for the 1-0 lead. Serpone heaped praise on the goal scorer after the game, saying, "I'm not sure there is a player in the league playing better than Fynn [Hayton-Ruffner] right now. He's been off the charts for the last couple games."

* This lead held into the second half, with the same kind of game being played --- the Mammoths held most of the possession and dominated most of the chances, with their first coming just 90 seconds into the second 45. Relentless pressure from Nuhu forced a pass back to the Continentals' goalie, and Hayton-Ruffner was able block the clearance attempt with a slide. However, the keeper was able to dive on the loose ball before Hayton-Ruffner could bag his second of the game.
 
* The next 30 minutes saw much of the same: Amherst players fired shot after shot on the Hamilton goal but were unable to find the back of the net for the second time.
 
* The Continentals found their footing with about 12 minutes to go, firing multiple shots and forcing Mammoth goalie Juan Perez into action on multiple occasions. That pressure led to success for the home side, as the Continentals drew a penalty kick with just over eight minutes to go that they converted to tie the game at 1-1 seemingly against the run of play.
 
* However, the Mammoths did not let conceding change their mindset and were able to respond just five minutes later. An attacking throw in was initially cleared away by Hamilton but was touched wide to Nuhu by Clark-Eden. Nuhu's chipped ball found a wide-open Niall Murphy, who buried a header for the lead with just 4:32 to. That goal stood as the game-winner, and Amherst left Clinton with a 2-1 win.
 
BY THE NUMBERS:

* As has been the trend this season, the Mammoths had a better statistical game than their opponents, leading 21-12 on shots as well as 11-3 on shots on goal. They also lead and 3-2 on corner kicks over the course of the 90 minutes.
 
* Junior Juan Perez started in goal for the Mammoths and made two saves on the day.