AMHERST, Mass. – Junior midfielder Bennett Chow scored four goals as the Amherst College men's lacrosse team opened the season with a commanding 16-7 victory over NESCAC rival Middlebury on Saturday afternoon at Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium.

The Mammoths, ranked 16th in the nation in the latest USILA Division III poll, are back in action on Saturday, March 8, when they travel to face Hamilton for another NESCAC clash at 1 p.m.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* Amherst struck first less than three minutes into the contest as senior midfielder Alex Giacobbe fired home the opening goal. Middlebury responded with back-to-back tallies from first-year attack Nick Marvin and sophomore attack Will Ford to take a 2-1 lead with just over eight minutes left in the first quarter, but Amherst tied the game at 2-2 with 1:15 remaining in the period when first-year attack Ben Wick scored his first collegiate goal off a feed from sophomore attack Brendan Reilly.

* Junior defenseman Thompson Lau, junior attack Bob Gross and Giacobbe scored for the Mammoths early in the second quarter, but the Panthers answered to tie the game at 5-5 before three straight Amherst goals gave the Mammoths a lead they never relinquished. Reilly, Chow and Gross each scored in a 77-second span before a late Middlebury goal by Ford cut the lead to 8-6 at halftime.

* Amherst broke the game open in the second with a stifling defensive performance and eight unanswered goals, keeping the Panthers off the scoreboard from halftime to the final five minutes of the game. Chow netted his second and third goals in the third quarter, while Gross completed his hat trick. Junior midfielder Matthew Sheinberg added a man-up goal off an assist from Giacobbe, giving the Mammoths a 12-6 lead heading into the final frame.

* The Mammoths kept their feet on the gas in the fourth quarter, tacking on four more goals. Giacobbe netted his third of the game on a man-up opportunity before Wick, Chow and Reilly rounded out the scoring. Sophomore midfielder John McCarthy scored Middlebury's only goal of the second half, but it was not enough to close the gap as Amherst sealed the 16-7 win.

BY THE NUMBERS:

* Chow's four goals are a career high. Giacobbe tallied three goals and two assists, while Gross added three goals and one assist.

* Senior Nicholas Kopp was dominant at the X, winning 18 of 23 faceoffs for the Mammoths.

* Senior Mitch Likins earned the win between the pipes, entering in relief in the second quarter and making three saves while allowing only one goal.

* Amherst outshot Middlebury, 53-23, and had a 31-12 advantage in shots on goal.

* The Mammoths converted on both of their man-up opportunities and successfully killed the only penalty they were assessed.