Molly Dilworth reacts after scoring early in the first half to give Bates a 3-2 lead the Bobcats would not relinquish.

LEWISTON, Maine -- Bates sophomore Molly Radis (Peaks Island, Maine) and junior Caroline Thomas (Barrington, R.I.) both scored three goals with two assists to lead the Bobcats to an 11-8 NESCAC victory over No. 14 Bowdoin College Tuesday night at Campus Avenue Field.

It is Bates' first win over its Route 196 rival since an 11-10 overtime win in 1993, a run of 14 straight wins for Bowdoin.

It was the second victory over a ranked opponent this season for Bates, which raised its record back over the .500 mark at 7-6 and improved to 3-5 in NESCAC play. Bowdoin drops to 8-6 overall and into a tie with Bates at sixth place in the conference standings at 3-5.

First-year goalie Mara Krueger (St. Louis, Mo.) made 11 saves in earning the win; Bowdoin junior goalie Steph Collins-Finn (Menands, N.Y.) stopped eight shots for the Polar Bears.

Junior Lindsay McNamara and junior Christina Denitzio scored two goals apiece for Bowdoin, as did first-year Briana Gross (Andover, Mass.) for Bates.

Bowdoin got out to a 2-0 lead in the opening four minutes, as junior Libby Barton (Wolfeboro, N.H.) assisted on goals by first-year Katy Dissinger (Upper Brookville, N.Y.) and McNamara (Milton, Mass.).

Bates charged back with four unanswered goals, by senior Molly Wagner (Longmeadow, Mass.), Thomas, sophomore Molly Dilworth (Yarmouth, Maine) and first-year Emily Howe (Carlisle, Mass.) to take a 4-2 lead halfway through the first period, prompting a Bowdoin timeout.

Bowdoin senior Ali Draudt (Portland, Ore.) closed it to 4-3 with an unassisted tally in the 19th minutes, but Bates answered with a 3-0 spurt over four minutes on goals by Thomas, Gross and Radis for a 7-3 lead.

Bowdoin snuck back into the thick of the game with a pair of goals in the final 12 seconds of the first half by sophomore Ashley Peterson (Littleton, Colo.) and Denitzio (Martinsville, N.J.), closing the gap to 7-5 at the break.

Radis broke the momentum to start the second half, with her second unassisted tally of the game, freezing a Polar Bear defender, getting past her and firing into the upper cage.

McNamara's second goal of the game closed it back to two, at 8-6, but Radis answered with her third straight goal, assisted by sophomore Morgan Maciewicz (Marblehead, Mass.) in the 37th minute, followed in the 44th minute by a determined drive and goal by Thomas that made it 10-7.

The Bobcats gave themselves some extra breathing room with under eight minutes to play, when Thomas scooped a rebound off a Collins-Finn save behind the net and looped a pass over the top of the net to Gross, who fell forward while flipping the ball into the back of the net for her second goal of the game and an 11-7 lead.

Denitzio scored a free-position goal with 1:01 to play on the only free-position attempt by either team in the game to close the gap to 11-8; it was the Polar Bears' only goal in the final 20 minutes of the game.

Bates will play at Wesleyan University on Saturday in its final regular-season game. Should they qualify, a first-round game in the NESCAC Championships will follow on Sunday.

BOX SCORE: Bates 11, Bowdoin 8