SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Sophomore Jake Bennett and junior Brock Gonzalez each scored hat tricks to lead the Amherst College men's lacrosse team to an 11-10 victory at Western New England University on Tuesday night at Golden Bear Stadium.

The Mammoths (4-3), ranked 15th in the nation in the latest USILA Division III Poll, defeated the Golden Bears (5-4) for the fifth straight season.

The Mammoths are back in action on Saturday (April 2), returning to NESCAC play with a visit to 11th-ranked Bowdoin at 1 p.m.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* The Golden Bears got on the board first with a goal from senior midfielder Noah Rust but Bennett tied the game less than a minute later. Gonzalez gave the Mammoths their first lead and senior midfielder Carter Tate scored his 11th goal of the season to give the Mammoths a 3-1 lead with 8:35 to go in the first.

* The Golden Bears came back to tie the game when Rust scored midway through the second and a goal from WNEU attack Jared Newall gave the Golden Bears a 5-4 halftime lead.

* The Mammoths scored the first three goals of the second half to retake the lead. Gonzalez tied the game at 5-5 then gave the Mammoths the lead with his third goal of the game.

* Sophomore midfielder Connor Guest scored his first collegiate goal late in the third quarter to kick off a run of four unanswered Mammoths goals. Bennett scored his third of the game before the third quarter ended, then senior captain PJ Clementi opened the fourth with his 20th goal of the season just eight seconds into the period. Junior midfielder Bayard DeMallie gave the Mammoths an 11-6 lead with his second goal of the game.

* WNEU mounted a late comeback, scoring four goals in the final five minutes of the game, but time ran out on the Golden Bears as junior midfielder Dylan Hanley scored to bring WNEU back within one with just one second remaining in the game.



BY THE NUMBERS:

* Gonzalez's three goals continued his streak of scoring hat tricks in all seven games this season and leads the NESCAC with 4.14 goals per game. Clementi has also scored in every game this season.

* Bennett tallied his first collegiate hat trick in his seventh career game.

* First-year goalie Mitch Likins made 12 saves, his fourth straight game with 10+ saves.

* The Mammoths outshot the Golden Bears, 44-30, while the Golden Bears held a 31-28 edge in ground balls. WNEU committed 20 turnovers, three of which were caused by Mammoths first-year defenseman Lawson Laverty, while Amherst turned the ball over 14 times.

* DeMallie scored a man-up goal for the Mammoths as Amherst went 1-for-2 in extra-man opportunities while keeping the Golden Bears 0-for-2 on the man-up.