Amherst Falls to Bowdoin, 17-15

Courtesy of Bowdoin Sports InformationMoroneyQ3.jpg

BRUNSWICK, Maine - Franklin Reis '14 of Bowdoin scored five goals and assisted on three others to rally a comeback win over the Amherst College men's lacrosse team on Saturday at Ryan Field, 17-15.

The Polar Bears, who trailed by as many as five goals in the game, improve to 3-0 (2-0 NESCAC) for the first time since 2008. The Jeffs fall to 1-1 (1-1 NESCAC) with their first loss to Bowdoin since the 2011 NESCAC Quarterfinals.

Devin Acton '14 led Amherst with five goals. Kane Haffey '16 and Dylan Park '16 had three goals and one assist each in the loss for the Jeffs while Quinn Moroney '16 had two goals and three assists.

Reis scored three of his five goals in the final quarter as the Polar Bears posted their highest goal output since scoring 21 goals against Nazareth in 2011. Peter Reuter '16 scored four goals and Dan Hanley '14 added three for the Polar Bears. Conor O'Toole '14 had two scores and three assists while Will Wise '14 added a goal and four assists in the win.

The Jeffs jumped to a 6-1 lead midway through the second quarter, only to see the Polar Bears end the half on a 6-2 run, drawing to within a goal at halftime following a Brett Kujala '17 goal with nine seconds left in the half.

Acton pushed the lead back to three goals with a pair of scores immediately after intermission, 10-7, and the Jeffs maintained their three-goal edge, 13-10, entering the final quarter of play.

Bowdoin opened the final frame with five unanswered goals. Wise sparked the run with a man-up goal, and assisted on two others as the Polar Bears held a 15-13 edge with 9:35 to go. Amherst would not go away, as Park and Acton scored 1:26 apart to deadlock the contest at 15-15 with 3:46 to go.

With under two minutes to play, O'Toole handled at the top of the point and dealt a pass to Reis, who snapped a quick, high shot under the crossbar with 1:27 remaining to give Bowdoin the lead for good. After a defensive stop, Dylan Hannes '14 cleared to Reis for a break behind the Amherst defense with 14 ticks remaining to seal the win.

Connor Loughlin '15 made 20 saves in the win as Amherst peppered the net with 51 shots for the afternoon. Greg Majno '14 played the first half and then relieved Cody Tranbarger '17 in the fourth quarter for the Jeffs. Majno ended with 12 saves and ten goals allowed in 40:45. Tranbarger stopped just two shots and permitted seven goals in 19:15.

Amherst returns to the field Tuesday, Mar. 11 for a 4:30 p.m. road game at Eastern Connecticut.