AMHERST, Mass. – First-year attack Brendan Reilly scored six goals in his first home game to power the Amherst College men's lacrosse team to a 17-5 win over Hamilton College in NESCAC action on Saturday afternoon on Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium.

The Mammoths, ranked 15th in the nation in the latest USILA Division III poll, improved to 2-1 on the season with a 1-1 mark in NESCAC play. The Continentals dropped to an identical 2-1 (1-1) record with their first loss of the season.

The Mammoths are back in action on Wednesday (March 13), hosting 16th-ranked Swarthmore at 4:30 p.m. on Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* The Mammoths scored the first two goals of the game and never trailed as sophomore defender Thompson Lau scored with the long stick on the first possession of the game. Reilly followed just over a minute later to give the Mammoths a 2-0 lead.

* After senior midfielder Christian Byrne scored to put Hamilton on the board, the Mammoths reeled off seven straight goals to take control of the game with Reilly completing his first collegiate hat trick five minutes into the second period and sophomore midfielder Bennett Chow netting his first collegiate goal with just under seven minutes to play before halftime.

* Reilly's fifth goal of the game came in the final minute of the second quarter to give the Mammoths an 11-2 halftime lead.

* The Continentals capitalized on an extended extra-man opportunity with a pair of man-up goals 30 seconds apart to open the third quarter but the Mammoths scored the next three goals to push their lead to 10 goals.

* Amherst closed out the dominant win by holding Hamilton scoreless in the fourth quarter while adding three more to the scoreboard to make the final tally 17-5.



BY THE NUMBERS:

* Reilly's six goals were a career high for the first-year in his third collegiate game.

* Senior Jake Bennett tallied two goals and three assists, while sophomore midfielder Alex Vlacich and junior Alex Giacobbe also recorded multi-goal games.

* Junior Nicholas Kopp went 13-for-22 at the face-off X and picked up six ground balls.

* Junior goalie Mitch Likins made eight saves while allowing only five goals to earn the win before sophomore Brooks Catlin came on in relief in the fourth quarter and made two saves without allowing a goal.

* Hamilton's goals came from five different goal-scorers as Byrne led the Continentals with a goal and two assists. Junior goalie Jack Fried made 20 saves for Hamilton.