LEWISTON, Maine -- In a matchup of two defensive-minded teams, Springfield trailed 2-1 with 12 minutes left in regulation but came back to tip No. 9 nationally ranked Bates for a 3-2 victory in the Second Round of the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship tournament on Sunday at Garcelon Field. The five combined goals are the fewest in the tournament's 36-year history.

• Game Highlights on WCSH-TV

The visiting Pride (16-5) advances to play in the Third Round at SUNY Cortland against Catholic University, which defeated Messiah College 15-9.

Bates, making its second tournament appearance ever and its first since 1994, ends the season with a 12-6 record.

The game set two tournament records and nearly a third:

• The previous tournament record for fewest goals in a game by both teams was seven, established in 2013 in a first-round game between Springfield and Endicott.
• The two goals in the first half represent the fewest goals in tournament history. The former record of three was set on five previous occasions, and that number was matched in the second half.
• The combined 30 shots taken by Bates and Springfield ties as the second-lowest number in tournament history, behind the 25 combined shots in the aforementioned 2013 game between Springfield and Endicott.

Bates scored first with a free-position shot under the crossbar by junior Kaileigh Maguire (Sudbury, Mass.) in the game's eighth minute, connecting despite being sent into the turf by a defender.

With 16:55 left in the opening period, Springfield evened the game with a free-position shot by Ann Mahoney.

With two of the top 10 defensive teams in Division III on the field, both offenses were determined to play at a deliberate pace, and neither side scored again for a span of nearly 26 minutes.

But with 20:59 left in the second half, Bates regained the lead, ending a lengthy possession when senior Moriah Greenstein (Glenmont, N.Y.) found senior Alex Briody (North Kingstown, R.I.) cutting open near the left goalpost. Greenstein's assist extended her team single-season (28) and career (89) assist records.

With 11:46 left in regulation, Bates senior defender Cara Cappellini (Manhasset, N.Y.) was issued a yellow card well away from the Bates goal, giving the Pride an extra-man advantage. Twenty-six seconds later, Springfield took advantage as Kristen Steidler drove hard at the goal and dished to Kristina Krull, who was left temporarily unguarded and buried the game-tying goal with 11:20 left.

Springfield then grabbed its first lead with 6:10 left in the game, ending a possession of over three minutes for the Pride. Mahoney found open space on the right wing, executed a face dodge and fired into the upper net from about 10 yards out for the 3-2 lead.

Bates temporarily believed it had tied the game with 5:39 left, as sophomore Camille Belletete (Jaffrey, N.H.) drove down the lane, jumped and shot the ball into the back of the net, but a whistle on Springfield called off the goal and Belletete was instead awarded a free-position attempt. Springfield goalkeeper Gabby Anderson stopped Belletete's 8-meter shot to preserve the lead.

Springfield's Heather Raniolo soon after tried to give the Pride a two-goal lead but her shot was saved by Bates senior keeper Hannah Jeffrey (Greenwich, Conn.). Steidler caused a Bates turnover to return the ball to Springfield with 4:43 to go. 

Cappellini forced a Springfield turnover with 4:17 left in the game and Bates called timeout, but the Pride then took the ball away from the Bobcats near the Springfield goal with 4:01 left.

Springfield turned the ball over to Bates with 2:05 to go, but the Bobcats gave the ball back 23 seconds later.

In the Springfield end of the field, the Pride again turned the ball over with 1:20 left, and Bates called its last timeout with 1:10 left. A Springfield foul with 36.4 seconds to go put Briody on the 8-meter line with a final free-position attempt, but Anderson again came up with a huge save.

Bates junior defender Erin Shea (Marshfield, Mass.) caused one final Springfield turnover with eight seconds left, but Springfield forced one final Bates turnover with three seconds left to seal the victory.

Anderson made nine saves against two goals allowed, representing an .818 save percentage, which ranks among the top 10 goalkeeping efforts in tournament history. After allowing Maguire's goal on Bates' first free-position shot of the game, she made the save on the Bobcats' final six 8-meter attempts.

Jeffrey, Bates' two-time All-America goalie, finished with six saves as well as two caused turnovers and two ground balls. Belletete had a game-high three draw controls while Shea had three caused turnovers and three ground balls and Cappellini had two caused turnovers and three ground balls.

Springfield's Shelby Corsano, who netted five goals in Saturday's 8-7 First Round victory over Bridgewater State, was held without a point on six shots. Amanda Nusbaum had two caused turnovers and three ground balls for the Pride, while Andie Stone caused two turnovers with two ground balls.

Ten Bates seniors had the distinction of seeing collegiate their careers end with the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament home game: Mikaela Bradley (Ridgewood, N.J.), Emma Brinkman (Rye, N.Y.), Briody, Cappellini, Greenstein, Jeffrey, Kara Le (Richboro, Pa.), Kelan McCann (Shrewsbury, Mass.), Emma Noto (Portland, Ore.) and Suzannah Smith (Brunswick, Maine).