BIDDEFORD, Maine -- The No. 8 nationally ranked Bates men's lacrosse team moved to 4-0 with a 19-4 non-conference victory at the University of New England on Sunday, jumping out to a 13-1 halftime lead with explosive performances by the Bobcats' two All-America players.

The Bobcats made sure there was no letdown in their play following their dramatic 12-11 overtime win at Wesleyan the day before. Senior Jack Allard (Ridgewood, N.J.) had a team-high eight points on four five and three assists, all but one goal of which also occurred in the opening half. Junior Charlie Fay (Falmouth, Maine) scored goals, all in the first half. 

Other top scorers for Bates included junior Andrew Melvin (Medfield, Mass.) with two goals and two assists; senior Charlie Hildebrand (Berwyn, Pa.) with two goals; sophomore Max Breschi (Carlisle, Pa.) with a goal and an assist; and juniors Jake Walsh (Baltimore, Md.) and Kyle Weber (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) with two assists apiece.

Allard had a hand in five of Bates' first six goals, including an unassisted extra-man tally that made it 5-0 with 4:29 to go in the first quarter. 

Five more goals were scored in the final 3:43 of the quarter, including the Nor'easters' tally by Sam Cloutier that made it 7-1. Allard scored at the 3:43 mark and Fay at 1:10, while Melvin (at 2:36) and Hildebrand (with four seconds remaining) gave Bates a whopping nine goals in the opening quarter.

Bates outscored UNE 4-0 in the second quarter, then ran off the first four goals of the third quarter. Juniors Wes Shrewsbury (Boxford, Mass.) and Scott Baber (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) both notched their first goals of the season, and sophomore Jack Maritz (St. Louis, Mo.) scored back-to-back goals to establish a 17-1 lead.

Sophomores Adam Blau (Pacific Palisades, Calif.), Mike Concordia (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Parker Strong (Wenham, Mass.) all notched their first career points during the second half of the game.

Senior Joe Faria (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) earned the victory in goal, making five saves and allowing one goal in the first half. Sophomore Jared Baumann (Portland, Ore.) played the third quarter and made five saves with one goal allowed, and first-year Mitchell Drake (Annapolis, Md.) made his debut in the fourth quarter, making two saves.

The Bobcats won 16 out of 25 faceoffs, with first-year Eli Cooper (Glastonbury, Conn.) winning nine of 15 and junior Sam Francis (Newburyport, Mass.) winning six of seven.

Bates next plays at No. 4-ranked Amherst on Saturday, March 12 at 1pm in a rematch of last season's NESCAC semifinal.