BRUNSWICK, Maine – Senior attack Will Byrne tallied nine points to lead Bowdoin College to a 19-8 win over the Amherst College men's lacrosse team in NESCAC action on Monday at Whittier Field.

The Polar Bears, ranked 12th in the nation in the latest USILA Division III poll, improved to 10-2 overall with their fifth straight win and remained unbeaten in NESCAC play at 8-0. The 16th-ranked Mammoths saw their three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 8-4 overall with a 5-3 mark in the NESCAC.

The Mammoths are back in action on Wednesday (April 17), hosting undefeated Rensselaer at 6 p.m. on Gooding Field.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* The Polar Bears scored twice in the first five minutes of the game and held the lead for the rest of the contest. Junior Jason Lach and sophomore Kevin Sandor scored for Bowdoin with Byrne assisting on both tallies.

* Senior Montana McLaughlin and sophomore Bennett Chow scored for the Mammoths in the first quarter but a Bowdoin goal from sophomore Sam Raye-Steiner gave the Polar Bears a 5-2 lead after the first period.

* Amherst junior Alex Giacobbe opened the scoring in the second period but Bowdoin scored twice more before senior Jake Bennett got on the scoreboard for the Mammoths. Lach struck again for Bowdoin before the end of the period and the Polar Bears held an 8-4 lead at halftime.

* First-year Brendan Reilly scored twice for Amherst in the third quarter and Giacobbe tallied his second of the game, but three Bowdoin goals in the final three minutes of the quarter gave the Polar Bears a 14-7 lead entering the final frame.

* Bennett netted his second goal of the game early in the fourth quarter for the Mammoths, but the Polar Bears didn't allow another goal from there, closing the game with five unanswered goals to secure the victory.

BY THE NUMBERS:

* Byrne led the Polar Bears with four goals and five assists, while Lach, Raye-Steiner and first-year Huck Trafton each scored three goals.

* Bennett tallied two goals and an assist for the Mammoths and has now scored in his last 15 straight games dating back to last season. Giacobbe and Reilly also scored twice for the Mammoths.

* Ground balls were even in the game at 35-35. The two face-off specialists, Amherst junior Nicholas Kopp and Bowdoin senior Ethan Barnard, each picked up eight ground balls.

* The Polar Bears outshot the Mammoths, 44-35, and held a 33-18 advantage in shots on goal. Junior Robert Hobbs made 10 saves in goal to earn the win for Bowdoin while sophomore Brooks Catlin made 14 saves for the Mammoths.