With four wins over the past two weeks, the Amherst men’s soccer team has improved to an overall record of 11-1-1. The winning streak began with a non-conference matchup against New England College on Wednesday, Oct. 5.

Senior captain Chris Martin started things off with a goal in the third minute of regulation. Only 15 minutes later, Martin found co-captain Cameron Bean ’17, who notched his first goal of the 2016 season.

Martin came up big once again before the end of the half, capitalizing on a breakaway and pushed the purple and white’s lead to three. Making eight saves over the course of the game, Lee Owen ’18 preserved the shutout and helped Amherst walk away with a decisive 3-0 win.

The purple and white returned to conference play on Saturday, Oct. 8, when they took on Hamilton at home. Once again, a strong first half helped Amherst to come away with the win. Cameron Hardington ’18 scored the game winner in the third minute, as he headed the ball into the back of the net off of an assist from Bean.

Jackson Lehnhart ’17 increased Amherst’s lead to two a mere five minutes later. Getting on the end of a well-placed corner from Dane Lind ’20, Lehnhart headed the ball past the Hamilton keeper. The game remained competitive and physical, with a total of 41 fouls called throughout the run of play, but the score remained at 2-0.

On Tuesday, Oct. 11, the purple and white traveled to New London, Connecticut to face off against NESCAC rival Connecticut College. Led by a two-goal performance from Bryce Ciambella ’17, Amherst came away with a 3-1 win. Ciambella struck twice in the first half, first in the 21st minute and then again in the 29th minute.

Fikayo Ajayi ’19 increased Amherst’s lead to three in the second half, receiving a pass from Martin and notching his second goal of the season.

The Camels’ best opportunity of the game came with only four minutes remaining, when the purple and white gave up a foul inside the box. Conn. College’s Pat Devlin stepped up to take the penalty kick and fired the ball past Owen to prevent Amherst from attaining their fourth consecutive shutout.

Another strong showing from Ciambella helped Amherst to edge out Colby 1-0 at home on Oct. 15. In the concluding minutes of the first half, Ciambella found the ball and beat two Colby defenders to create a quality opportunity for himself inside the Mules’ 18-yard box. Ciambella fired a shot that streaked across the keeper and into the bottom right corner of the net.

Although the purple and white failed to score again, the team still peppered the Hamilton goal with shots. Martin again proved his offensive capability, leading the team with five shots over the 90 minutes. On the defensive side, Owen made some impressive saves in the final minutes of the game to preserve the shutout and secure the win.

“Coach always says ‘it’s tough to win game’,” Will Cohen ‘19 said. “Getting another NESCAC win feels good, but as we move to the end of regular season and especially playoffs, we need to continue to improve if we want to be back to where we were last year.”

Amherst returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 22, when the team will travel to Wesleyan for a crucial Little Three matchup.