Tina Tobin's fifth goal of the year closed the gap to 2-1 with 39 minutes left in the game.

AMHERST, Mass. -- The Bates College women's soccer team narrowed a 2-0 deficit to 2-1 in the 51st minute, but allowed two more goals to the host Lord Jeffs in the second half in a 4-1 loss at Hitchcock Field on Saturday.

Bates ends its season with a 6-8-2 overall record and its fourth semifinals appearance in the 10-year history of the NESCAC Women's Soccer Championship. The Bobcats, seeded eighth in the tournament, knocked off top seed Tufts last Sunday.

The Lord Jeffs (8-6-2) will face the winner of Saturday's second semifinal, No. 5 Middlebury vs. No. 3 Williams, in tomorrow's final.

Junior forwards Tina Tobin (Lowell, Mass.) and Alix Vandeventer (North Attleboro, Mass.) connected for a Bates goal for the fifth time this season, when Vandeventer assisted on Tobin's fifth goal of the year, at the 51:00 mark, closing Amherst's lead to 2-1. Receiving a pass in the box with only Amherst goalkeeper Allie Horwitz to beat, Tobin calmly placed her shot inside the near post to make it a 2-1 game with 39:00 to play.

Tobin led Bates in goals (5) and points (14), while Vandeventer led the team in assists (5) and was second in points (11).

Jess Wall's goal at 61:45 bounced the Amherst lead back to two goals. Kathryn Nathan's second goal of the game followed just 57 seconds later, giving the Jeffs a commanding 4-1 lead.

Amherst controlled the majority of the action, mounting a 26-5 difference in shots taken. Nathan got Amherst on the board in the sixth minute, and Maureen Griffin sent the Jeffs into intermission with a 2-0 lead on her unassisted goal at 30:25.

Junior Annie Burns (Topsfield, Mass.) started in goal and was charged with all four Amherst goals, but made five saves in 71:07 of game time. First-year Anabel Schmelz (Monmouth Beach, N.J.) played the final 18:53 in Bates' goal and made four saves. With six minutes to play, Amherst's Amanda Brisco hit the post and Livia Rizzo ripped a rebound on target, but Schmelz came up with a nice save.

Bates made a nice push in the final minutes, but a free kick from junior Jacqui Easton (Lexington, Mass.) was saved by Horwitz and an attempt from first-year Kara Stefaniak (Needham, Mass.) went wide.

It is the final game in a Bates uniform for the team's one senior, midfielder and captain Meredith Poore (Duxbury, Mass.).

STATS: Amherst 4, Bates 1