The Middlebury men's lacrosse team (7-7, 5-4) battled back from an early deficit on Saturday against #19 Amherst (8-5, 6-3), but the Mammoths scored five of the final six goals during a 14-9 decision on Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium. The Panthers wrap up the regular-season portion of their schedule on Wednesday when they host Williams at 5:00 p.m., while the Mammoths entertain Trinity on the same day.

Following the conclusion of Saturday's contest, Middlebury honored seniors Anson Clough, George Dunhill, Fyn Fernandez, Anthony Marinello, Kyle McFetridge, Andrew Ng and Gordon Pollock.

The Panthers grabbed an early 1-0 lead when Jack Sheehan drove down the left side of the field, firing a shot into the upper-left corner with 1:13 elapsed. The Mammoths responded 11 seconds later when Brock Gonzalez scooped up the groundball on the faceoff and ripped a shot from the right side. The visitors tallied the game's next five goals spanning 11:35 of play, as Bayard Demallie scored twice, including one during an extra-man opportunity with a shot on the doorstep. Scores from Connor Guest at the 7:45 mark, followed by Gonzalez's second of the game just over a minute later increased the Amherst advantage to 5-1. Matt Adams gave the visitors a five-goal lead after one quarter on a quick-stick score with 2:01 showing on the clock.

Trailing 7-2 early in the second stanza, Middlebury rattled off four-straight tallies to pull to within one (7-6) with 3:34 left. Russell Thorndike recorded the final two scores of the run for the Panthers, each coming on nifty assists by Tom Conley. Amherst's Tanyr Krummenacher and Gonzalez found the back of the net 13 seconds apart late in the quarter, giving the Mammoths a 9-6 lead at halftime.

Following the break, Conley scored for the Panthers in the opening minute of the third quarter on a spin move to beat his defender. Sheehan pulled Middlebury to within one (9-8) 25 seconds later with his third goal of the game. Amherst stopped the Panther momentum with a trio of goals from Demallie, with Krummenacher assisting on two of them, for a 12-8 edge heading to the fourth quarter.

Thorndike cut the deficit to three (12-9) on a bouncing goal following a nice feed from Sheehan with 6:42 left in the low-scoring fourth quarter. The Mammoths maintained possession over much of the final minutes, tallying a pair of goals for the 14-9 final score.

Sheehan and Thorndike both had a hat trick and an assist for Middlebury, while Conley and Billy Curtis each chipped in with a goal and two helpers. William Munroe won 16-23 of his chances at the faceoff X and had five groundballs, while Johnny Kantaros and Curtis both added five rollers. Finn O'Connor (7-7) took the loss in goal for the Panthers, playing the first half between the pipes. Matt Dailey posted four saves over the final two quarters.

Demallie recorded a game-high six points with five goals and an assist, while Gonzalez tallied four scores and a helper. Krummenacher posted a pair of goals and three assists. Lawson Laverty had four caused turnovers and collected four groundballs. Mitch Likins (5-3) earned the win in goal for Amherst, recording 15 saves and adding a game-best six rollers.

Middlebury finished with advantages in shots (41-30), groundballs (40-31) and were victorious in 19-27 chances at the faceoff dot.