NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Bates College men's lacrosse team scored 13 unanswered goals Saturday afternoon en route to a 16-8 win over Connecticut College in NESCAC action.
Sophomore Charlie Fay (Falmouth, Maine) and senior Jack Strain (Montclair, N.J.) each had four goals in the win. Sophomore Kyle Weber (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) scored a pair of goals and kicked in a game-high four assists on the day.
Bates (6-4, 3-4 NESCAC) was down, 7-3 early in the second quarter, but held Connecticut (2-9, 0-6 NESCAC) scoreless for over 32 minutes to secure the victory. Junior goalkeeper Joe Faria (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) allowed seven goals in the first quarter and a half but stepped up for some crucial saves, finishing with 14 on the day, in helping Bates go on the unprecedented 13-0 run.
Max Luing scored the Camels first goal less than a minute into the opening quarter for the 1-0 lead. Strain answered with a goal on the feed from Fay to even things at one. Connecticut College added a pair of goals half-way through the first to go up 3-1. Fay notched his first score of the day at the 5:35 mark to bring Bates within one.
Strain opened up the scoring in the second to even the score at three, but the Camels answered with four consecutive scores to open up the 7-3 advantage. The goal from Briggs Barton at the 5:37 mark would be the last for the Camels until Ben Parens scored with 1:52 in the game.
Fay scored his second goal of the game on a man-up opportunity on a feed from sophomore Jake Walsh (Baltimore, Md.) to make it 7-4, Connecticut. Strain added a goal at the 1:43 mark in the second, and Fay brought the Bobcats within one as the clock expired for the second.
The Bobcats picked up right where they left off, scoring six straight goals in the third quarter, including three from junior Jack Allard (Ridgewood, N.J.). Sophomore Andrew Melvin (Midfield, Mass.) tied the game for Bates less than two minutes into the second half, and the game remained knotted at seven until Allard notched a pair of back-to-back tallies to give Bates their first lead of the game.
Kyle Weber followed up with his first tally of the day on a man-up opportunity, taking the dish from Fay and finding the back of the net. Allard closed out the scoring the third on an unassisted score. Senior Conor Henrie (Lexington, Mass.) and first-year Max Breschi (Carlisle, Pa.) each added goals in the fourth, as Bates outscored the Camels for the half, 10-1.
The Bobcats forced 17 turnovers for the day, and took care of the ball exceptionally well, turning it over only seven times. Bates scored two goals on four man-up opportunities. Charlie Fay led Bates with six ground balls.
Bates will next travel to No. 1 ranked Tufts University for a 7:00 p.m. NESCAC match up on April 7.
