LEWISTON, Maine -- A pair of first-half tallies by Bowdoin College proved to be too much for Bates College as the Bobcats suffered an eventual 2-1 home loss to the Polar Bears Saturday in the NESCAC opener for both squads.

Bowdoin's Shannon Gallagher knocked a pass off a Bates defender to set up teammate Morgan Smiley, who promptly booted home her second goal of the young season, providing the road team a 1-0 surplus in the 23rd minute (22:53). A costly infraction by the Bobcats resulted in a successful Bowdoin penalty kick, courtesy of Greta Farkas, to make the score 2-0 Polar Bears at the 38:03 mark.

Bates (1-1, 0-1 NESCAC) spoiled the Bowdoin shutout attempt in the 83rd minute (82:21) as junior captain Charlotte Jones (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) countered with a penalty strike of her own, good for the junior's first goal of the year.

The Polar Bears (2-0, 1-0 NESCAC) outshot their host by a 17-12 margin, including a 5-3 edge on frame. Alex Arndt gathered two saves in the complete-game effort, improving to 2-0 between the Bowdoin pipes. Counterpart and Bates first-year Samantha Bunar (Lynnfield, Mass.) recorded three denials in the tough-luck loss.

The Bobcats return to non-conference action Monday night under the lights of Garcelon Field with a home game vs. Husson University. Start time is set for 6:00 p.m.