LEWISTON, Maine -- The Cote sisters both tallied goals and the No. 10 nationally ranked Bates field hockey team defeated No. 21 Wesleyan 3-0 Sunday afternoon at Campus Ave. Field.

It's the fourth straight win for the Bobcats (7-3, 4-2 NESCAC), who are off to their best start in conference play since 2002. This marks the eighth straight victory for Bates over Wesleyan (7-4, 4-3 NESCAC) in field hockey. 

In a complete effort on defense, Bates held the Cardinals to just two shots, one on goal. Meanwhile, the Bobcats tallied 14 shots, nine on goal. 

After a scoreless first quarter, the Bobcats struck first in the 20th minute of action. As they have all year, Bates took advantage of a penalty corner. Junior Anna Cote (Auburn, Maine) received the insert at the top of the circle and moved quickly to her right. While on the run, Cote fired a shot into the lower left corner of the cage for a 1-0 Bates lead and her fifth goal of the season.

In the 22nd minute, Bates added to the lead on another penalty corner. This time, senior captain Sarah Bussell (Thompson's Station, Tenn.) received the insert and she found senior captain Paige Cote (Auburn, Maine) open on the left side of the circle. Cote stepped into the shot and drilled it into the right side of the cage for her fifth goal of the year. Bussell picked up her second assist.

The Bobcats took a 2-0 lead into halftime and capped off the scoring with the game pretty much already decided in the 56th minute. Senior Ella Blum (South Salem, N.Y.) found junior Maria Femia (Canton, Mass.) who swiped the ball into the cage for her team-leading seventh goal of the season. It's Blum's first assist of the year. 

Kenzie Mauro recorded a shot on goal for the visitors and Audrey Pace made six saves.

The Bobcats are back in action Saturday when they travel to No. 5 nationally ranked Tufts for a showdown that gets underway at 12pm.