AMHERST, Mass. – The seventh-ranked Amherst College men's lacrosse team had three players score two goals, and senior goalie Thomas Gilligan made 15 saves to help the Purple & White claim an 11-8 victory over NESCAC and Little III rival Williams College Saturday afternoon at Pratt Field.

With the win, Amherst improves to 11-3 overall, 7-2 in league action, while Williams moves to 8-6 on the season, 4-5 in NESCAC play.

Amherst clinched its third straight Little III title since 2013, and posted its seventh straight win over Williams since 2009.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• Both the first and second quarters saw Amherst edge Williams, 3-2 as the Purple & White held a 6-4 lead at intermission.
• Dylan Park '16 scored the first goal of the contest at the 13:45 mark, before Charlie Gill '16 doubled the advantage at the 6:01 mark.
• The Ephs answered with back-to-back scores from Conor Roddy and Thomas Fowler with one assisting the other on each play to make it 2-2 with 4:17 to play in the opening period.
• Matt Killian '17 found the back of the net with 11 seconds left on a feed from Connor Crump '16 to give the Purple & White a slim, 3-2 advantage after 15 minutes.
• In the second quarter, Peter Crane knotted the score at 3-3 when he collected a goal at the 11:53 mark.
• Amherst struck back with three straight scores, including one each from Andrew Ford '19, Kane Haffey '16, and Quinn Moroney '16, to make it 6-3 with 2:58 on the clock.
• Michael Fahey then pulled Williams to within two (6-4) 47 seconds later to set the halftime score at 6-4. Fowler assisted on the score.

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• Williams narrowed the gap to just one when Roddy scored a man-up unassisted goal at the 13:43 mark.
• Just 34 seconds later, Gill made a phenomenal diving goal on a pass from Moroney on the man-advantage to spark a run of four unanswered goals.
• Gill then found Michael Litner '16 who scorched the back of the cage at the 12:03 mark, before Evan Wolf '19 and Ford fired in a pair of goals late in the quarter to give Amherst a 10-5 lead. Moroney provided the helper on Wolf's score.
• The Ephs crept back into the contest in the fourth stanza, receiving goals from Bryson Gilbert-Bono (from Calvin Collins), Fahey and Duncan Cummings on the extra-man opportunity to pull Williams to within two (10-8) with 3:09 to play.
• Haffey put the game out of reach when he scored his second of the game following a dish from Moroney at the 1:31 mark that was setup by a critical interception by Brian O'Malley '17, to help the Purple & White pull away to the victory.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Gill, Ford and Haffey finished with two goals each, while Moroney dished out three assists to lead the offensive efforts for Amherst.
• Gilligan made 15 saves including six in the second frame, as he picked up his first win of the 2016 season between the pipes.
• Ford led all players with six ground balls, while O'Malley and Moroney added five each. O'Malley also forced three turnovers, while Connor Sheehan '18, Rob Butko '16, and Ryan Cassidy '16 caused two each.
• Miles McCarthy suffered the loss for Williams making 23 saves, highlighted by nine in the third quarter. McCarthy, Crane, Brian Bissell, and Angus O'Rourke picked up four ground balls each in the loss.
• Bissell was 9-for-15 in face offs, while O'Rourke was 4-for-7 at the center dot.

UP NEXT

• Amherst concludes its 2016 regular season Wednesday, April 27 when it hosts Trinity College at 6 p.m. at Pratt Field.
• Williams wraps up its regular season Wednesday, April 27 when it travels to Middlebury College at 4:30 p.m.