AMHERST, Mass. -- The second-ranked Amherst College men's soccer team scored twice in the first five minutes Tuesday night as it opened its 2022 campaign with a 4-1 win over non-conference opponent Mount Saint Vincent on Gooding Field.
Amherst (1-0) is back in action Saturday when it hosts NESCAC rival Middlebury at 2:30 p.m. in a game scheduled to be played at Hitchcock Field.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
* Just 2:23 into the game, the Mammoths took a 1-0 lead. Senior midfielder
Alex Shahmirzadi possessed a ball just over midfielder and slotted a ball to teammate
Declan Sung about 25 yards from the MSV goal. Sung dribbled into the 18, then cut to his right and fired a laser on goal. The Dolphin keeper got an arm on the ball, but it popped up into the air to his right. Junior
Niall Murphy one-time the ball out of mid-air and re-directed it into the unattended goal for the one-goal lead.
* Less than two minutes later, the Amherst lead doubled. A corner kick was sent into the box from the right side.
Fynn Hayton-Ruffner got his head on the ball, but it continued and glanced off a Dolphin defender and back toward the top of the box. An alert Hayton-Ruffner tracked down the ball, turned quickly and fired a low shot from 16 yards out that beat the keeper for a two-goal advantage.
* With 11 minutes to go in the half. A corner was sent into the box from the right side to just beyond the far left post.
Simon Kalinauskas put hia head on the ball and sent a shot back toward the goal. It glanced off a Dolphin defenders and then the crossbar. Senior
Andrew Barkidjija knifed his way through a crowd to put his head on the rebound, directing it past a Dolphin back and into the goal for a 3-0 lead.
* The Mammoths outshot Mount Saint Vincent's 9-5 in the first half and took 9 corner kicks to the visitors 2.
BY THE NUMBERS:
* Senior
Bernie White made five saves in the victory, improving to 1-0 on the season.
* Amherst finished with a 24-12 edge in shots and a 15-7 advantage in corners.
* There were seven yellow cards assigned in the contest, and 24 fouls in all.