AMHERST, Mass. - A physical affair at Hitchcock Field saw nationally-ranked Connecticut College hold on for a 3-1 win over Amherst College men's soccer on Saturday, in the season opener for both programs.
The two sides played to a scoreless deadlock for the better part of an hour, with chances hard to come by on either end. But the game's complexion changed dramatically down the stretch, as four goals were scored across a wild 26-minute span - including a converted penalty kick that came on the same play as a red card - before Amherst finally broke through in the final minutes.
The physicality carried through the entire match, with seven yellow cards and two red cards shown over the course of the afternoon.
With the setback, Amherst opens the season at 0-1-0, while Connecticut College improved to 1-0-0.
The Mammoths are back in action Tuesday, Sept. 8, traveling to Worcester to face WPI.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
- Connecticut College finally broke the scoreless tie in the 62nd minute, as Dylan Hoke found the back of the net off a pair of assists from Max Haberman and Marco Perugini to give the Camels a 1-0 lead.
- The Camels doubled their advantage just nine minutes later. Max Weiss, who had checked in as a substitute in the 21st minute of the second half, needed only five minutes to make his presence felt, finishing off a feed from Charlie Riegel to make it 2-0 in the 71st minute.
- The game turned chaotic in the 83rd minute. Amherst's Jacob Dinzeo was shown a red card for a foul inside the box, and Marco Perugini stepped up to convert the resulting penalty kick, pushing the Connecticut College lead to 3-0.
- Connecticut College was reduced to 10 men shortly after, as Max Haberman picked up a red card of his own in the 86th minute.
- Amherst refused to go down quietly. In the 89th minute, Sam Davis headed home a Harrison Hackett throw-in to pull the Mammoths within 3-1, but time ran out before they could complete the comeback.
BY THE NUMBERS:
- Amherst held a 12-9 edge in total shots, but Connecticut College was the more clinical side, out-shooting the Mammoths 7-4 in shots on goal.
- The Mammoths were relentless in the final third, forcing nine corner kicks to just three for the Camels - offensive pressure that didn't translate to the scoreboard until the closing minutes.
- Mohammed Nuhu and Obed Opoku paced the Amherst attack with three shots apiece.
- Amherst turned to two goalkeepers on the afternoon: Trey Sheppard made one save across 67:48 of action before Spencer Kreitzer took over and turned away three shots down the stretch.
- Connecticut College was whistled for 16 fouls to Amherst's 12, part of a chippy contest that produced nine cautions and ejections in total.
