AMHERST, Mass. – In a physical conference matchup, two early goals by the Purple & White proved to be the difference makers as the No. 16 Amherst College men's soccer team shut out Hamilton College, 2-0 Saturday afternoon on Hitchcock Field.

With the win, Amherst improves to 9-1-1 on the season and 4-1-1 in league play, while Hamilton falls to 5-4-1 overall (4-2-1 NESCAC). Amherst returns to action with a midweek game at Connecticut College on Tuesday, Oct. 11 beginning at 4 p.m., while the Continentals travel to Utica on Oct. 12 for a 5:30 p.m. tilt.  

Tallying his second goal of the season, junior Cameron Hardington scored the game-winner just 2:51 into the matchup. Taking advantage of a Jackson Lehnhart '17 throw in, Cameron Bean '17 headed the throw to Hardington in front of the goal. Making strong contact with the ball, Hardington headed the pass past the diving Hamilton goalkeeper to make it a 1-0 contest.

Lehnhart added an Amherst insurance goal to give the Purple & White a 2-0 lead just over five minutes later at the 8:04 mark. Launching a corner kick, Dane Lind '20 sent a near perfect pass to Lehnhart in the box who headed the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal.

Hamilton's best scoring chance of the first half came in the 16th minute, as Aidan Wood drove a shot towards net from the top right of the box. Diving to his right, Amherst goalie Lee Owen '18 was up to the task, and got a hand on the ball to turn away the attempt.

Following intermission, Lind nearly extended the Purple & White's lead to three at the 53:25 mark on an Amherst free kick. Tabbed to take the attempt, Lind ripped a shot from 25 yards out around Hamilton's defensive wall, but the ball went just wide left of the goal.

Aidan Wood looked poised to have a breakaway opportunity after utilizing his speed to gain inside positioning on a defender with 27:25 remaining in the matchup, but Ian Fayorsey '18 made an athletic play to cleanly slide tackle the ball out of bounds.

Keeping the Continental deficit at two, Harris Pollack came up with a big save in the 76th minute, smothering a shot attempt from Weller Hlinomaz '18 from point-blank range inside of 18 yards.

The final 14 minutes featured just one shot on goal, as Amherst secured the 2-0 victory.

GAME NOTES

• Owen (9-1-1) registered three saves in between the pipes in the winning effort, while Pollack (5-3-1) made three saves for Hamilton in the loss.  
• Amherst owned a 14-8 edge in shot differential and a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.
• Telling of the physical play between the sides, the teams combined for 41 fouls in the game; with Amherst receiving 21 infractions and Hamilton being whistled for 20.
• Lehnhart led all players with three shots in the outing, while four other Amherst players each took two shots apiece.
• Alec Talsania put two shots on frame to lead Hamilton, while three other Continentals sent a shot on goal.