MEDFORD, Mass. -- Bates scored three goals in the final 94 seconds of regulation before falling to No. 5 nationally ranked Tufts University Saturday at Bello Field in double-overtime, 9-8.
Junior Connor Ginsberg (New Haven, CT) scored 1:27 into the second overtime to give Tufts the win. Ginsberg’s goal, his third of the game, saved the Jumbos from a disastrous outcome after Bates rallied from a 7-3 deficit in the fourth quarter.
Tufts keeps its hold on first place in NESCAC with the victory, improving to 10-2 overall and 6-1 in the league. Sophomore Clem McNally (Farhills, NJ) also scored three goals for Tufts, while senior tri-captain Mark Warner (Wading River, NY) had four assists.
Bates evened off at 5-5 overall and dropped to 2-5 in NESCAC. The Bobcats got a goal and three assists from senior Amadi Cisse (Hanover, NH) along with two goals apiece from Brent Morin (Hanover, NH) and Mike Medeiros (Concord, MA).
The Jumbos scored the game’s first three goals and led 5-2 at the half. McNally had two at the break. Tufts expanded its lead to four goals (7-3) in the third quarter, and seemed to have the game under control.
Bates scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter, by Morin and Medeiros, to cut the margin to 7-5. McNally scored off a pass from Warner at 2:21 for an 8-5 Tufts edge, but the visitors scored three times in the final 1:34 to tie the game at 8-8. Tyler Moore (North Andover, MA) tied it with just 25 seconds left on the clock, with Cisse making the pass for his third assist of the quarter.
Bates had three shots to one by Tufts in the first four-minute overtime period. At the start of the second overtime, Jumbo senior Matt Lanuto (Duxbury, MA) won the face-off. A minute-and-a-half later, Ginsberg came out from behind the goal and beat Bates keeper Will Paddock (Denver, CO) with a turn-around shot for the victory.
Paddock finished the game with 13 saves, while Matt Harrigan (Darnestown, MD) stopped six in the Jumbo cage.
The Bobcats will next host Bowdoin College in another NESCAC matchup on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
STATS: Tufts 9, Bates 8 (2OT)
-- Tufts University Sports Information
