OWINGS MILLS, MD — The No. 1 RIT (6-0) men's lacrosse team scored 10 first-quarter goals and held on for a 21-16 win over No. 10 Amherst College (4-1) on day two of the 2018 Mustang Classic hosted by Stevenson University Saturday. The Tigers led 13-5 at the half and withstood a seven-goal run by the Mammoths in the third quarter to win by five.

Shots were 51-47 in favor of Amherst. The Tigers won the ground ball battle 50-47, but won only 16-of-41 face-offs. RIT was 4-for-4 on the man-up, all in the first quarter, while Amherst was 2-for-5.

Kyle Killen (Peterborough, Ontario/Crestwood Secondary) and Ryan Barnable (Whitby, Ontario/Donald A. Wilson) each scored four goals. Quinn Commandant (Rockwood, Ontario/The Kiski School) tallied three goals, while Ben Tackett (Butler, PA/The Kiski School), Jay Vakiener (Fairport, NY/Fairport), Shawn Nally (Rochester, NY/McQuaid) and Aidan Milburn (Vancouver, British Columbia/Sentinel Secondary) each tallied two goals and two assists. Walker Hare (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville) got the win, making eight saves. Holden McDonald (Toronto, Ontatrio/St. Mary Catholic) made five saves in relief, and Trevor Smyth (Orangeville, Ontario/The Kiski School) led the Tigers with seven ground balls.

RIT exploded for 10 goals in the first quarter, leading 10-2 after 15 minutes. Killen tallied three goals, while Tackett scored a pair. The Tigers scored the first eight goals of the game before Evan Wolf broke the run with his goal at the 4:29 mark of the quarter. Nally dished out a pair of assists. The Tigers would score four times in a 53 second span on a non-releasable one minute man-up opportunity midway through the first quarter to take an 8-0 lead.

Jackson Herrick led Amherst with four goals, while Matt Solberg had three goals and an assist. Colin Minicus and Jack Norton had three points apiece. Dylan Fanazzo won 23-of-37 face-offs for the Mammoths. In net, Cameron Mitchell made 12 saves.

The Tigers scored three goals in the second quarter to lead 13-5 at halftime. Hare had eight saves at the break. 

Amherst came roaring back, scoring seven straight goals and eight total in the third quarter. Trenton Shore and Matt Solberg each scored two goals in the run for the Mammoths, including Shore's goal with 3:27 remaining in the quarter that cut the RIT lead to 14-13. Commandant broke the run for RIT, scoring off an assist from Milburn with 1:18 to play to give the Tigers a 15-13 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Commandant tallied his second straight goal to open the scoring in the fourth quarter, giving the Tigers a 16-13 lead off an assist from Tackett with 14:19 remaining. Norton cut the RIT lead to 16-14 with his man-up goal with 13:24 remaining in the game. Vakiener gave the Tigers a three-goal lead on his goal with 12:25 remaining. Inglesby made it a two-goal deficit for the Mammoths with his goal with 11:44 remaining. Vakiener scored his second of the quarter, giving the Tigers an 18-15 lead with 10:39 to play. Barnable took a pass from Nally with 9:54 remaining that increased the Tigers lead to 19-15.

Herrick scored with 9:22 to play to cut the RIT lead to 19-16. Both teams went scoreless until Barnable tallied his eighth of the season with 2:20 to play to give RIT a 20-16 lead. On the ensuing face-off, Eli Salama scored in transition off an asset from Tackett to give the Tigers a 21-16 lead. In all, RIT outscored Amherst 6-3 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the win.

RIT returns to action on Wednesday, March 21 when the Tigers take on SUNY Geneseo at 4 p.m. on RIT's Turf Field.