BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Amherst men's lacrosse team nearly pulled off an all-time rally, erupting for six fourth-quarter goals and closing within one in the final minute, but the Mammoths fell 14-13 to Stevens Institute of Technology, the MAC Freedom champions, on Saturday afternoon at Whittier Field in the round of 32 of the NCAA Division III Championship.
Amherst (8-8) was chasing early after Stevens (18-2) opened with four first-quarter goals and carried a 4-1 lead into the second. The Mammoths found a spark late in the half behind
Ben Wick, who finished with five goals, and Amherst briefly made it a two-goal game midway through the second as Wick and
Brendan Reilly scored in a 10-second span (12:28 and 12:18), but Stevens answered with a late run and took a 10-5 lead into halftime.
Stevens extended the margin coming out of the break, scoring three goals in the first 2:34 of the third quarter to push the lead to 13-5. Amherst kept competing and got a man-down goal from
Thompson Lau at 6:58 (assisted by
Matthew Sheinberg), then a late third-quarter finish from Reilly at 4:40, cutting it to 13-7 heading into the fourth.
The final period turned into a full-on siege. Amherst outshot Stevens 26-5 in the fourth and scored six times, clawing all the way back to 14-13 on a man-up goal by
Mike Hanlon with 0:04 left (assisted by
Bennett Chow). Amherst also got fourth-quarter goals from
Luciano Chadha (11:38),
Willie Doyle (10:06), Wick (8:46 and again on the man-up at 3:03) and Sheinberg (0:59), but Stevens' lone fourth-quarter goal, a man-up finish by Adam DeCristofaro at 5:49, proved to be the difference.
Reilly finished with two goals and two assists, and Sheinberg added two goals and two assists as Amherst's offense surged late. In goal,
Brooks Catlin posted 14 saves to keep the Mammoths within striking distance throughout.
Amherst's loss concludes a season in which the Mammoths reached the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
* Stevens scored four times in the first quarter, but Amherst got on the board late as Sheinberg scored unassisted at 0:41 to make it 3-1, before Stevens answered with 0:02 left to lead 4-1 after one.
* Amherst's best second-quarter stretch came at the 12-minute mark: Wick scored at 12:28 (assisted by Reilly), and Reilly followed at 12:18 (assisted by
Sam Gerber) to cut the margin to 5-3.
* Stevens carried a 10-5 lead into halftime and extended it to 13-5 early in the third, but Amherst stayed alive with Lau's man-down goal at 6:58 (assisted by Sheinberg) and Reilly's unassisted goal at 4:40.
* Amherst's fourth-quarter rally featured six goals, including Wick's man-up finish at 3:03, Sheinberg's goal at 0:59 (assisted by
Max Youssefnia), and Hanlon's man-up goal at 0:04 (assisted by Chow) to make it a one-goal game at the horn.
BY THE NUMBERS:
* Amherst finished with 48 shots and held the Ducks to 5 shots in the fourth quarter during the comeback attempt.
* Catlin made 14 saves for the Mammoths, while Stevens goalie Michael Jannotte made 8.
* Amherst went 2-for-3 on extra-man opportunities and scored once while man-down.
