LEWISTON, Maine -- Jack Rickards scored six goals and Rafa Bru won 23 of 28 faceoffs to lead the Colby College Mules past the Bates men's lacrosse team by a final score of 17-10 Sunday afternoon at Garcelon Field. 

The Mules (2-1, 1-1 NESCAC) rallied from an early deficit and controlled play in the second half to defeat the Bobcats (1-1, 0-1 NESCAC) for the first time since 2014. 

With the game tied at nine and 2:33 left in the third quarter, Noah Froio put the Mules ahead for good with a goal on an assist from Charlie Lynch. Colby proceeded to go on a 7-0 run, taking command of the game. The Mules outscored the Bobcats 11-3 in the second half. 

Bates got off to a fast start on Sunday, with junior Oliver Allen (Portsmouth, N.H.) tallying the first two goals of the game.  

The Bobcats led 4-2 at the end of the first quarter thanks to senior Jack Vinci (Washington Township, N.J.) tallying his first goal of the season. Bates got off to a fast start in the second quarter as well, with junior Jack Lousararian (Mansfield, Mass.) and first-year Wil Masterson (York, Maine) finding the back of the net. Masterson scored again with 3:15 left in the half, extending the Bobcat lead to 7-3. 

But the Mules scored the final three goals of the second quarter, cutting the Bobcat lead to 7-6 at halftime.

Colby scored the first three goals of the third quarter, opening up a 9-7 lead before junior Walter Braun (Charlotte, Vt.) ended the run with the second goal of his collegiate career. Vinci tied the game with a man-up goal with 7:48 left in the third. 

More than five minutes passed before Froio's go-ahead score. Bates only scored one more time over the final 20-plus minutes of the contest, a Masterson goal with 5:11 remaining in regulation. 

Masterson paced the Bobcats with three goals, with Allen and Vinci scoring two apiece. Allen also tallied an assist. 

Senior captain Will Haskell (Norwalk, Conn.) played a strong game on defense for Bates, recording a team-high five ground balls and causing a game-high four turnovers. Sophomore Garrett FitzSimons (Garden City, N.Y.) made 18 saves in goal for the Bobcats. 

Colby ripped off 65 shots to Bates' 34. The Mules recorded 46 ground balls and the Bobcats picked up 25. Faceoffs proved to be the big difference, with Colby winning 23 of 31 faceoffs overall. The turnover battle was fairly even; Bates turned the ball over 20 times and Colby turned it over 21 times. 

In addition to his 23 faceoff wins, Colby's Bru also tallied a game-high 12 ground balls and scored a goal. Froio, Noah Brooks and Jake Surette scored two goals each to support Rickards' six-goal performance. Surette also tallied a pair of assists.

The Bobcats are back in action Saturday when they host Tufts at 2pm. No one from outside the Bates campus is permitted at the game but fans can watch online at https://www.nsnsports.net/colleges/bates/.