SPARKS, Md. – Senior attack Alex Giacobbe recorded four goals as the Amherst College men's lacrosse team fought hard to earn a 13-7 victory over Denison University at the USA Lacrosse Headquarters on Thursday afternoon.

Amherst jumped out to a strong start, leading 4-2 at the end of the first quarter. Denison fought back to cut the deficit to 5-4 late in the second, but the Mammoths' offense took over in the second half, outscoring the Big Red 7-3 in the final two quarters to seal the win. Amherst's defense held firm, limiting Denison to just two goals in the last 15 minutes.

With the victory, Amherst improved to 5-0 on the season, while Denison fell to 3-3. The Mammoths will return to action against Bowdoin College on Sunday (March 23) at 1 p.m. on Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* Amherst struck first with 13:41 to go in the first quarter, as Giacobbe finished off a feed from Alex Vlacich to give the Mammoths a 1-0 lead. Just over a minute later, Giacobbe struck again, this time off an assist from Bennett Chow, making it 2-0. Denison responded at 11:08, with Macky Peck finding the net off a pass from Kevin Berutich to cut the lead to 2-1. Amherst quickly re-established its two-goal advantage at 9:13, when Chow scored off a Bob Gross assist. Peck kept Denison close with an unassisted goal at 5:08, making it 3-2. However, Amherst closed the quarter strong, as Chow scored again with just four seconds left, unassisted, pushing the lead to 4-2.

* Denison opened the scoring in the second at 12:01, as Tommy Quinson converted off a feed from Peck, bringing the score to 4-3. Amherst responded at 8:00, with Giacobbe completing his hat trick unassisted, making it 5-3. The Big Red continued to battle, as Collin Murphy fired an unassisted goal at 5:47, pulling Denison within 5-4. However, Giacobbe struck once more at 1:56, extending Amherst's lead to 6-4 heading into halftime.

* The Mammoths came out dominant in the third quarter. Brendan Reilly started the scoring at 14:31, extending the lead to 7-4. At 11:51, Willie Doyle finished off a Reilly assist, making it 8-4. Less than a minute later, Nico Berger found the back of the net off a Devon Christian assist to push Amherst's lead to 9-4. Denison momentarily stopped the run at 10:18, as Quinson scored his second of the game from Berutich, bringing the deficit to 9-5. Amherst responded with two more goals before the quarter ended – Gross at 2:14 off a Ben Bruno pass and Doyle again at 1:05 off a Gross assist – giving Amherst a commanding 11-5 lead heading into the final frame.

* Amherst kept its momentum rolling in the fourth, as Gross netted his second goal at 13:06, assisted by Reilly, making it 12-5. Denison capitalized on a man-up opportunity at 9:29, when Jack Hines scored off a Michael Cassidy assist to cut the deficit to 12-6. But Amherst had the final say, as Gross secured his hat trick at 7:54, assisted again by Reilly, pushing the lead to 13-6. Denison added a late man-up goal at 2:28, with Quinson completing his hat trick unassisted, but it was too little, too late, as Amherst secured the 13-7 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS:

* Amherst outshot Denison 46-29.

* The Mammoths won 16 of 24 faceoffs.

* Amherst collected 48 ground balls, compared to Denison's 27.

* Goalkeeper Brooks Catlin recorded 11 saves for Amherst, while Denison's goalie made 13 stops.