Senior Dan Remillard headed in the game's only goal in a 1-0 defeat of Thomas on Oct. 9, 2013. File photo by Mike Bradley/Bates College.

LEWISTON, Maine -- Senior defender Dan Remillard headed in the game's only goal off a free kick in the 60th minute as the Bates College men's soccer team defeated Thomas College 1-0 in a non-conference match Wednesday night at Garcelon Field.

The Bobcats (2-5-2) won for the first time since the season opener against Maine Maritime on Sept. 3 and snapped a three-game skid, while Thomas dipped under the .500 mark at 5-6-1. A healthy crowd of nearly 500 watched under the lights on a chilly evening. The game constituted the first "Garnet Game," an initiative by the Bates Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to drum up additional support among Bates student-athletes for their peers on other varsity teams.

"The boys played well, after a hard weekend last weekend," said head coach Stewart Flaherty. "It was a good game to clear the mind, and we've never passed the ball so well this season."

Bates junior Nick Ford (Columbus, Ohio) lofted a free kick from 35 yards out into the face of the Thomas goal with 30:45 remaining in the game. First-year Matt DiVite (Murray Hill, N.J.), making his season debut, got the top of his head on the ball, where it flicked toward the left post. Remillard was there to finish off the play in front of Thomas senior goalkeeper Mikkail Crockwell (St. David's, Bermuda). It was Remillard's first goal this season and the fourth of his career. The assists were the first this season for Ford and DiVite.

The action didn't stop there, as both teams mounted scoring threats in the game' remaining time. Just a minute after the goal, Ford blasted a shot off the right goalpost, and five minutes after that, junior captain Aaron Nickelsberg (Concord, Mass.) stepped into a laser beam that flared just wide of the goal.

With 15:03 left in the game, Thomas sophomore Tre Ming (Devonshire, Bermuda) made a run and crossed it to the Bates goal, where a defender nearly knocked directed into a game-tying score. Three minutes later, sophomore Guled Guled (Boston, Mass.) stepped into a 40-yard shot that was tipped away by a Bates player, resulting in a Thomas corner kick.

Bates had strong chances at the feet of first-year Peabo Knoth (Portland, Maine), senior Tyler Grees (Williamstown, Mass.) and sophomore Luis Pereira (Curitiba, Brazil) in the final 12 minutes, but narrowly missed putting in an insurance goal each time.

Bates had a 9-5 edge in shots in the scoreless first half, 3-1 in shots on goal. The Bobcats first threatened when Pereira made a tackle, carried up the left wing and crossed to Ford, who beat his defender to get a foot on the ball but pushed it wide right. 

Thomas responded with a pair of threatening one-man runs, one each by Ming and first-year Ali Pak (Madenhead, England), but they were foiled by Bates' defense before they could get shots off. 

With 12:10 remaining, Thomas junior Dakota Duplissie (Hampden, Maine) got isolated with only Remillard (Hanover, N.H.) between him and Bates' goal. A one-on-one move freed up a hard shot for Duplissie, but it headed right at well-positioned sophomore goalie Joe Maffly-Kipp (Chapel Hill, N.C.). 

With 3:05 left in the first half, a free kick by Bates junior back Nick Sorice (Santa Barbara, Calif.) pinballed once to Remillard, whose hard head-ball was saved by Crockwell from finding the upper left corner of the net.

Crockwell made six saves for Thomas, while Maffly-Kipp turned away two shots in earning the shutout, behind a 20-9 Bates advantage in shots.

Bates plays the third contest in its five-game homestand on Sunday at 11am against UMaine-Farmington. The Terriers will host Johnson State on Saturday at 3:30pm.