MIDDLEBURY, VT. --  The  fifth-seeded Amherst College men's lacrosse team kept fighting back against four-seed Middlebury College Saturday afternoon, but eventually ran out of comebacks as the Panthers took the NESCAC quarterfinal match-up, 9-6. 

Amherst stands at 10-6 after the defeat and will await word on a possible at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament. Middlebury improved to 9-7 and will take on Bowdoin in a NESCAC semifinal next. 

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* Amherst found itself down 3-0 after the 6 1/2 minutes Saturday, but stormed back to tie the game at 3-all. Bennett Chow got the scoring started for the Mammoths with an unassisted tally that came with 7:33 remaining in the quarter. With 5:51 to go, Brendan Reilly converted a pass from Jake Bennett to make it 3-2. Just 40 seconds later Alex Vlacich tied things up with an unassisted tally of his own. 

* Middlebury would score twice before the first period ended to take a 5-3 lead, then added the first two goals of the second stanza to expand that lead to 7-3. Amherst pulled back within three at the 4:26 mark as Bennett cut past a defender and flipped a close-range marker into the net. The score remained 7-4 through halftime. 

* The defense and goalies made things tough in the third quarter, and the Mammoths scored the only goal in the 15-minute period when Bennett netted his second marker, receiving a pass from Vlacich and firing a turn-around shot into the left portion of the goal to bring the score to 7-5.

* That was the score entering the final period of regulation, and the Mammoths quickly closed with one goal when Chow found nylon on the player-up advantage off an assist from Bob Gross. 

* However, Middlebury would score the next two goals, one from Russell Thorndike and one from Logan White, that left the hosts leading 9-6 with 7:56 remaining. 

* Amherst could not find the back of the next over the final 8 minutes and that accounted for the 9-6 final. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS:

* Mammoths goalkeeper Brooks Catlin finished with 13 saves in the game. 

* Middlebury hed a 41-32 shot advantage and a 26-18 advantage in groundballs. The Panthers also won 11 of 17 face-offs in the game. 

* Amherst committed 20 turnovers to Middlebury's 14. 

* Sam Gerber led Amherst with 2 caused turnovers. Catlin had a team-high 5 groundballs while Thompason Lau and gross notched 3 each.