LEWISTON, Maine -- Senior captain Paige Cote scored the game-winning goal in overtime and the No. 8 nationally ranked Bates field hockey team prevailed 4-3 over the Colby College Mules on Tuesday, making some history along the way. 

With the win, the Bobcats (11-4, 7-3 NESCAC) secure their most wins in NESCAC play in program history. Their 11 victories overall are the program's most in one season since 1999. Bates will host a NESCAC tournament game for the first time ever this Saturday, where the Bobcats will be the third seed in the eight-team tournament. Time and opponent have yet to be determined.

Just over two minutes into the seven-on-seven overtime period, junior Anna Cote (Auburn, Maine) drove the ball down the left side of the field into the shooting circle, centering the ball past the sticks of three Colby defenders to her older sister, and Paige Cote (Auburn, Maine) handled the rest. The senior captain moved to her right, around one defender, and ripped a shot past the diving Colby goalkeeper for her seventh career game-winning goal. 

Bates appeared well on their way to an easy win over the Mules (4-11, 0-10 NESCAC) as the Bobcats scored the first three goals of the game in front of a packed house at Campus Ave. Field. 

Junior Anna Lindeis (New Canaan, Conn.) got the scoring started in the ninth minute of action. She reeled in a pass ahead from sophomore Brooke Moloney-Kolenberg (Winchester, Mass.), stepped just inside the shooting circle and uncorked a screamer off the back-left board of the cage for a 1-0 Bates lead.

In the 11th minute, Lindeis scored from the same spot. This time she got the ball near the goal line, maneuvered her way to the left wing, and with the ball right on the line, turned and ripped it into the lower right corner of the cage for her seventh goal of the season and a 2-0 Bates edge. 

Up 2-0 through one quarter, the Bobcats added to their lead in the 17th minute. Paige Cote stole a pass in Colby's end and drove the ball into the shooting area. She tried a tricky shot while almost parallel with the goal that was denied by Colby keeper Emily Loeb. But the ball deflected right onto the stick of first-year Kate McManaman (Washington, D.C.) who one-timed it home off the rebound for her second goal of the season.

Facing a 3-0 deficit, Colby showed plenty of fight, rallying to tie the game at three in the 58th minute on Pernilla Shaw's second goal of the night. Shaw got the Mules on the board in the 21st minute when she deflected in a cross from Molly Mitchell.

The Bobcats held a 3-1 advantage at halftime, but in the 33rd minute Casey Winslow delivered a terrific individual effort, driving straight down the field, past multiple defenders on her way to scoring a goal and cutting the lead to 3-2. 

Then late in the contest, Shaw took advantage of chaos in front of the goal after a long entry feed bounced into the shooting area, scoring and ultimately forcing overtime. 

Luckily for Bates, the Cote sisters took control and secured the win, the Bobcats' fourth straight win over Colby and seventh victory in their last eight games against the Mules.

Loeb turned in a terrific performance in the cage for the visitors, making 10 saves. Bates held a big shooting advantage, with 28 shots, 15 of them on goal. The Mules finished with eight shots, six on goal. Bates tallied eight penalty corners to Colby's one. Sophomore Kaili Jacobsen (Fairfield, Conn.) made a pair of saves for Bates. Meanwhile, Lilly Conway and senior Lauren Salazar (Mohegan Lake, N.Y.) both made a defensive save for their respective teams.