LEWISTON, Maine -- First-year
Rex Lane tallied
a hat trick in his collegiate debut and the Bates men's soccer team rolled to a 9-0 win over Maine Maritime Academy Tuesday afternoon at Russell Street Field.
It's the most goals in one match for the Bates men's soccer program since a 9-0 win over Newbury in 2014.
Lane (Orlando, Fla.) recorded all three of his goals in the first 28 minutes of action. With Bates (1-0) already leading 2-0 in the 14th minute, Lane made a brilliant defensive play in the backfield. He intercepted a pass intended for MMA goalkeeper Matthew Castella and beat him one-on-one for an open net goal.
Less than a minute later, Lane struck again. The Bobcats took the ball away from the Mariners (0-3) and senior captain
Owen Keleher (Corrales, N.M.) directed a pass just a little bit beyond Lane's reach. Castella came out to smother the ball but it deflected back to Lane who picked up the loose change for the brace.
Lane saved his most spectacular goal for last. In the 28th minute, first-year
Tife Agunloye (Monroe, Conn.) dribbled the ball hard down the far side and crossed it for Lane, who executed a no-look back-kick for the goal, stunning the Mariners and completing the hat trick. It's the first hat trick for a Bates men's soccer player since
Nate Merchant '18 tallied one against Maine Maritime in 2016.
Keleher and first-year
Gerard Costa Farre (Barcelona, Spain) also turned in big performances for Bates, both finishing with two goals and one assist on the afternoon.
Costa Farre factored in the first two goals of the match. In the fourth minute, he delivered a beautiful pass from midfield that found Keleher in the middle of three defenders. Keleher split them in just a couple strides for the opening tally.
Then in the 12th minute, sophomore
Juan-Sebastian Niehenke (Morristown, N.J.) delivered a perfect cross from the goal line to a wide open Costa Farre, who calmly put away his first collegiate goal.
In the 16th minute, Lane found Keleher on the far side and the senior captain crossed it to Niehenke. The sophomore, playing in his first collegiate match due to the pandemic, one-timed it home for his first collegiate goal as well.
Up 5-0, the Bobcats recorded another brilliant goal in the 25th minute. On a direct kick from just outside the box, Keleher bent it around the MMA wall to the right post. It deflected into the net for his second tally of the match.
Bates led 7-0 at halftime and Costa Farre got the scoring started in the second half with his second goal of the day. In the 65th minute, senior
Charlie Cronin (South Portland, Maine) delivered a nice cross and Costa Farre left-footed it to the near post, finding the back of the net for the brace.
Cronin capped off the scoring in the 69th minute with his first collegiate goal. Junior
Max McKersie (Arlington, Mass.) dropped off a pass for Cronin and the Mainer delivered a perfect strike across the goal into the lower left corner, making the score 9-0 in favor of Bates.
The Bobcats tallied 37 shots (15 on goal) on the afternoon compared to MMA's four shots (with none on goal).
Junior
Ryan Manning (Belchertown, Mass.) played the first 45 minutes in goal, earning his second collegiate win. Sophomore
Luca Antolini (Yarmouth, Maine) made his collegiate debut and played the second 45 minutes between the pipes.
Bates is back in action Saturday when the Bobcats host Hamilton at 1:30pm on Russell Street Field.
