LEWISTON, Maine -- Junior Anna Cote scored a pair of goals for the second straight day and the No. 10 nationally ranked Bates field hockey team rallied to defeat No. 9 Williams 2-1 in a huge NESCAC showdown Sunday afternoon at Campus Ave. Field.

With the victory, the Bobcats (10-4, 6-3 NESCAC) take over third place in the conference standings with one game to play in the regular season. This marks the team's second straight win over the Ephs (9-5, 6-3 NESCAC), after a 1-0 overtime triumph last season in Williamstown, Mass. It's the first victory at home for Bates over Williams since 2011.

With the score tied at one, Cote (Auburn, Maine) scored the eventual game-winner in the 53rd minute. Senior captain Molly Griffin (Holden, Mass.) delivered the insert on a penalty corner to Cote, who made a move to her right. The ball drifted a bit off Cote's stick but senior Lauren Salazar (Mohegan Lake, N.Y.) was there to get the ball back to Cote. Cote took one step to her left and ripped a back-handed shot into the back of the cage to put the Bobcats ahead for good.

Bates did a good job down the stretch, maintaining possession and denying Williams any shot attempts.

Before Cote's second goal, it was a long haul for Bates against a tough Williams team. The Bobcats found themselves down 1-0 in the 11th minute of action. The Bates defense couldn't quite clear an entry feed into the circle and Kiki Higgins gathered a deflection off a Bobcat defender's stick. She was able to sneak it by the Bates goalkeeper for the first goal of the afternoon and her eighth of the year.

With 13:37 left in the second quarter, the Bobcats thought they'd tied the game off a penalty corner, when senior captain Paige Cote (Auburn, Maine) ripped the ball into the back of the cage. But the officials ruled the insert hadn't cleared the circle, nullifying the goal. 

Nevertheless, Bates persisted. 

Down 1-0 at halftime, the Bobcats fended off three early shots from the Ephs in the third quarter. Then the hosts earned a penalty corner in the 44th minute. Sophomore Brooke Moloney-Kolenberg (Winchester, Mass.) delivered the insert to the top of the circle. Anna Cote received the pass, shook two defenders, and found the lower right side of the cage for the equalizer. 

From then on, the Bobcats dominated play. Anna Cote's game-winner was her team-leading 10th goal of the season, while Salazar picked up her third assist. Cote nearly got a hat trick with a shot in the 56th minute that was denied by Williams goalkeeper Gates Tenerowicz.

Tenerowicz made four saves for Williams while sophomore Kaili Jacobsen (Fairfield, Conn.) recorded two saves for Bates. The Bobcats took 10 shots, six on goal, and held Williams to five shots, three on goal. Bates earned five penalty corners, scoring on two of them, while the Ephs recorded just one penalty corner, on which Bates prevented them from scoring.

The Bobcats are back in action Tuesday at 7pm when they host rival Colby in NESCAC action.