Amherst Rallies Past Colorado College in First Round of Championship

Amherst Rallies Past Colorado College in First Round of Championship

(Photo courtesy of Joe Fusco, d3photography.com)
(Portions of this story courtesy of Colorado College)

AMHERST, Mass. - Devin Acton scored four of his six goals in the second half as No. 14-ranked Amherst College rallied for a 13-10 victory over Colorado College in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship on Wednesday afternoon.
 
The Jeffs, who improved to 15-4, overcame an 8-4 halftime deficit to earn a shot at No. 1 RIT on Saturday.
 
For 30 minutes, it looked as though CC was on its way to the second round, especially when senior midfielder Jack Kreitler (pictured above) struck for the second of his three goals less than three seconds before intermission.
 
Thhe Amherst attack caught fire in the second half, as they scored six consecutive goals to build a 10-8 lead with 11:25 remaining in the game. After Kreitler stopped the run 37 seconds later, the Jeffs tacked on four more before Stephen Peterslige closed out the scoring for the Tigers.   
 
Chase Murphy turned in another outstanding postseason effort, turning aside 16 shots for his eighth double-digit performance of the campaign. In two career NCAA games, the sophomore goalie has averaged 16.5 saves per contest.
 
Six different players scored for CC, including Halle and Kreitler who struck for two apiece.
 
Kreitler, who extended his goal-scoring streak to nine games, has scored at least two in each of the last five contests. Taylor Paul and Austin Davie recorded a goal and an assist for Colorado College's balanced attack. P.J. Higgins led the defensive attack with six ground balls while McCormick and Kreitler added three each.
 
Amherst finished with a 47-36 edge in total shots and a 41-28 advantage in ground balls.
 
Cody Tranbarger steered aside five shots in the second half for the Jeffs, who improved to 6-0 at home. Starter Greg Majno made four saves during the opening 30 minutes.
 
The Tigers finish the season with a 10-6 record.

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