Moriah Greenstein was one of six different Bobcats to score Saturday against Amherst in NESCAC play. (File photo by Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

AMHERST, Mass. - Six different Bobcats scored goals, but the Bates women's lacrosse team could not overcome an early scoring barrage by No. 5 nationally ranked Amherst College, falling 14-6 in NESCAC action Saturday afternoon at Gooding Field.

The Bobcats (1-1, 0-1 NESCAC) trailed by as many as seven in the first half, but battled back to with three goals in the last 11 minutes of the first half to make it 9-4 heading into halftime.

Rachel Passarelli and Coco Kusiak led Amherst (1-0, 1-1 NESCAC) with four goals each while Sarah Spector recorded a game-high three assists.

Amherst jumped out the the early 2-0 advantage behind goals from Passarelli and Mia Houghton, but the Bobcats cut the lead in half less than 90 seconds later with a goal from junior Emma Brinkman (Rye, N.Y.), with the assist from junior Emma Noto (Portland, Ore.). Amherst answered only minutes later, as Sarah Spector won a loose ball off of a Jill Conway save and fed it to teammate Claire Cagnassoia for the goal and the 3-1 lead.

The Jeffs stretched that lead to 8-1over the next ten minutes, but Bates sophomore Sydney Cowles (Wayne, Pa.) broke the scoring drought with a goal at the 11:34 mark. Teammate Emma Brinkman won the ensuing draw, and junior Moriah Greenstein (Glenmont, N.Y.) scored another Bobcat goal less than a minute later, bringing Bates to within five at 8-3.

Amherst's Passarelli scored a second goal at the 2:33 mark, but Bates found the back of the net again in the waining seconds of the half, when first-year Allison Dewey (Vergennes, Vt.) battled her way to a ground ball off of an Amherst-save, and sophomore Kayleigh Maguire (Sudbury, Mass.) scored on a feed from junior Suzannah Smith (Brunswick, Maine) with 12 seconds remaining to make it 9-4 a the half.

The Jeffs opened the second half with five unanswered goals over the first 15 minutes, stretching the lead to 13-4. Senior Emma Getsinger (Darien, Conn.) scored an unassisted goal with 10:57 remaining, and first-year Annie Duke (Englewood, Col.) scored the final Bobcat goal of the afternoon, unassisted, with 7:41 left in regulation.

The Bobcats won the battle of ground balls for the day, picking up 13 loose balls to Amherst's 10, and senior Bates goalkeeper Jill Conway (Andover, Mass.) notched 10 saves, playing the full game between the pipe.

Bates returns to action on Tuesday, March 3 when they host the University of Southern Maine in non-conference action at 4:30 at Garcelon Field.