LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates men's lacrosse team scored the first four goals of the game but the visiting Western New England Golden Bears rallied to defeat the Bobcats 21-13 Wednesday night at Garcelon Field.

Bates (0-3) got two early unassisted goals from senior captain Jack Lousararian (Mansfield, Mass.) to grab a 2-0 lead. Then senior Robert Purcifull (Newport Beach, Calif.) added a goal of his own on an assist from senior Max Kim (Woodland Hills, Calif.) and the Bobcats led 3-0 with 7:06 left in the first quarter.

Things kept getting better, as Bates got a man-up opportunity and took advantage, scoring on a goal from senior Jackson Sell (Mill Valley, Calif.) with an assist from junior Malcolm Klingbeil (Powell, Ohio) with 6:03 to go in the first.

The Golden Bears (4-0) got on the board with a man-up goal of their own from Mike Bannon with 4:27 remaining in the opening quarter. But Bates had the answer, as Sell found junior Will Schinabeck (Shaker Heights, Ohio) and the Bobcats led 5-1 with 3:35 left.

WNE got a goal from Matt Greer just 32 seconds later, but Bates still led 5-2 through one quarter.

The Golden Bears got off to a fast start in the second quarter, scoring five of the first six goals to go up 7-6 with 6:04 left until halftime. Sophomore Wil Masterson (York, Maine) tallied the equalizer on an assist from first-year Denzel Evans (Baltimore, Md.) with 5:35 remaining, making it a brand new ballgame at 7-7.

Ben Kolb's goal with 4:40 to go until halftime put the visitors ahead for good. Jared Newall added an insurance tally before the Bobcats ended the first half with a flourish on a buzzer-beater from sophomore defenseman Max Patterson (Cape Elizabeth, Maine), making the halftime deficit 9-8.

Unfortunately, the momentum did not carry over to the third quarter. The Golden Bears scored seven unanswered goals to go up 16-8 and they never looked back. The 8-1 scoring margin in the third quarter was essentially the difference in the game, as the teams played the fourth quarter to a 4-4 standstill.

Bannon had a big game for WNE, scoring four goals and dishing out four assists. Newall added four goals of his own and Kolb and Brian Madden both recorded hat tricks.

Masterson and Schinabeck paced the Bobcats with three goals apiece. Schinabeck dished out an assist and caused a turnover as well. Sell led the team in points, tallying a pair of goals and dishing out three assists. Junior Jackson Williams (Cumberland, Maine) won 14 of 25 face-offs and recorded five ground balls. First-year Ben Miller (Scarsdale, N.Y.) added five ground balls and caused a turnover.

The Bobcats struggled in extra man opportunities, going 1-4, while WNE converted four of four. The Bobcats got outshot by the Golden Bears 50-40 on the evening.

Bates welcomes NESCAC foe Trinity to Garcelon Field this Saturday at 1pm.