NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College men's lacrosse team dropped an 11-8 decision against No. 17 Amherst College on Wednesday night in a NESCAC clash at Silfen Field.

The Camels trailed by as many as seven in the second half before closing the gap, trimming the deficit to 10-8 with 4:17 to play in regulation. However, Amherst goalie Brooks Catlin made a big save down the stretch to help protect the margin, and the Mammoths added a late goal to secure the victory.

Bennett Chow led Amherst (5-5 overall, 4-3 NESCAC) with three goals while Brendan Reilly added a goal and two assists. Andrew Rainville (Watertown, Conn.) paced Conn with three goals and an assist.  

Amherst played a strong first half on both ends of the field. The Mammoths scored the first seven goals of the contest—four in the first quarter and three in the second—while Catlin made 10 of his 15 saves before the halftime intermission. Conn's lone tally came in the final seconds of the half when Graydon Diamond (New Canaan, Conn.) charged the cage and dished off to a wide-open Harrison Zmijewski (San Jose, Calif.) for the score.

The teams traded goals in the third period as Amherst carried an 8-2 advantage into the fourth. Conn began the quarter with a man-advantage and promptly cashed in off the stick of Isaiah Kozub (Wilbraham, Mass.). Moments later, Henry Dumler (Mercer Island, Wash.) forced a turnover that led to a score by Rainville. The two goals, scored in the first 31 seconds of the stanza, brought the Camels back into the game.

Amherst countered with a pair of scores to go up 10-4 with 11:27 to go, but Conn kept grinding away. Matthew Sofarelli (Jupiter, Fla.) kicked off a 4-0 spurt for the Camels with a goal at the 7:50 mark, and Rainville and Diamond scored 37 seconds apart to make it a 10-7 game with 6:21 left. Liam Horkan (Malden, Mass.) then netted a man-up goal with 4:17 remaining to cut the deficit to two.

Catlin made his biggest save of the night with 3:12 left on the clock, denying a rip by Rainville to quell Conn's momentum. The Camels caused three more turnovers in the final minutes but couldn't capitalize, and the Mammoths snuck in a goal at the horn for the final tally.

Patrick Hogan (Wyckoff, N.J.) finished with 10 saves in goal for the Camels. Ardem Sarajian (Ridgewood, N.J.) recorded a team-high six ground balls and won seven face-offs on the night.

Conn (5-6 overall, 1-6 NESCAC) will next play at Bates College on Saturday, April 11 at 1:00 p.m.