CLINTON, N.Y. – Amherst College's Colin Minicus '20 was one of four players to score three goals in addition to adding four assists as the 10th-ranked Purple & White downed Hamilton College, 17-9 in Saturday afternoon's NESCAC men's lacrosse game in Clinton, N.Y. With the win, Amherst improves to 5-2 overall, 2-1 in NESCAC action, while Hamilton moves to 2-5 overall, 1-3 in NESCAC play. Amherst returns to action Wednesday, March 29 when it hosts Springfield College in non-conference action at Gooding Field at 4:30 p.m. Amherst raced out to an early, 2-0 lead when Minicus connected with Brogan Mahon '19 for back-to-back goals separated by just 39 seconds as the Purple & White held a 2-0 lead at the 13:06 mark of the first quarter. Hamilton answered with an unassisted score by Brock Bowers, but Amherst struck again as Minicus assisted Andrew Ford '19 with 6:51 to play in the first period to make it 3-1. A goal by the Continentals' Henry Hill made 3-2 with 4:29 to play in the frame, but two straight goals by Minicus and Mahon (both unassisted) helped the visitors close out the quarter with a 5-2 advantage. The visitors continued to find the back of the net early in the second stanza as Chris Albanese '17 scored on a feed from Ian Kadish '18 at the 12:11 mark, before Owen McCarthy answered for Hamilton with an assist from Nate Weinrauch. Another goal by Albanese – this one aided by Trenton Shore '19 – lifted the Amherst lead to 7-3 with 9:11 to play in the half. J.D. Brachman then delivered a goal following a feed from Weinrauch, but Jack Norton '19 and Ford responded with back-to-back unassisted tallies to help Amherst roll out a 9-4 lead with less than five minutes to play in the quarter. A goal by Jordan Fong pulled the Continentals to within four (9-5) at intermission. After Norton (assisted by Connor Sheehan '18 on the man-advantage) and Clay McCollum traded goals early in the third quarter, the Purple & White strung together four straight markers as Minicus scorched the net at the 12:31 mark and again at the 11:47 mark, while Shore scored with an assist from Mahon at the 9:57 mark to give Amherst a 13-6 cushion following an extra-man opportunity. Kadish then pushed the lead to 14-6 with 8:20 to play in the stanza, before McCollum provided a goal and an assist for the Continentals to make it 14-8 after three periods of action. McCollum assisted a man-up goal by Hill with 3:13 to play to pull the hosts to within six. After playing nearly 10 minutes of scoreless lacrosse in the fourth stanza, Amherst pulled away as the Purple & White notched three straight goals in 1:29 to make it 17-8. Ford potted the first marker, while Sheehan found Norton on the extra-man opportunity. Drew Kelleher '18 then collected a goal following a dish by Minicus. With 1:21 to play in the contest, Hill notched Hamilton's lone goal of the quarter to set the final score at 17-9 in favor of Amherst.