Mike Medeiros '08 scored twice and now leads Bates with 15 goals. (Photo by RichardOrrSports.com)

BRUNSWICK, Maine -- The Bowdoin College men's lacrosse team wrapped up a first-round home game in the NESCAC Championships with an 8-6 win over Bates on Tuesday evening.

The Bobcats (3-9, 2-6) need a win against Wesleyan at home on Saturday (1 p.m.) to assure themselves of a berth in the NESCAC Championships, which start on Sunday.

The Polar Bears (9-4, 5-3) are locked into the fourth spot in the conference standings heading into their final regular-season game on Saturday at Williams. They will host a quarterfinal contest on Sunday at Ryan Field.

Tuesday, Bowdoin carried a 4-2 lead into halftime and opened the third quarter with a man-up goal from Harry Ashforth at 11:49 that pushed the advantage to three goals. Bates rallied with consecutive tallies by senior Mike Medeiros (Concord, Mass.) that trimmed the lead to 5-4 with 9:57 remaining in the frame.

Bowdoin responded with a three-goal run as Thadd Welch, Mike Giordano and Cullen Winkler pushed the lead to 8-4 with 10:23 to go.

The Bobcats were able to score two late goals by first-year Rory Cosgrove (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and junior John Adams (Bloomfield, Conn.), but Bowdoin's Alex Gluck made several strong saves in the final moments to seal the win.

Gluck stopped four shots in the second half after Gordon Convery made three saves in the opening half for Bowdoin. Senior co-captain Will Paddock (Denver, Colo.) stopped seven shots for the Bobcats.

Rob Halliday had three assists for Bowdoin and Max Key won 11-of-17 faceoffs for the hosts. Junior Les Wade (Randolph, N.J.) earned three assists for Bates in the loss.

BOX SCORE: Bowdoin 8, Bates 6