LEWISTON, Maine -- On a brisk Tuesday evening, Bates men's soccer took on Maine Maritime Academy at Garcelon Field, defeating the visiting Mariners, 9-0.  The win marks the largest margin of victory for the garnet and white since defeating MMA by an identical score back on Sept. 7, 2021 at home on Russell Street Track & Field.

First-year goalkeeper Trevor Hammond was able to stifle an early Maritime push with a great save in a one-one matchup vs. John-John Dickenson (So.-Advance, N.C.) to set the tone only 25 seconds into the match. 

Bates quickly responded with a goal to start the scoring from senior forward Harry Corman, (assisted by both Wilson Smith and Sebastian Iacovitti) at the 2:17 mark of the game, establishing an aggressive tempo for the Bobcats. 

The 'Cats deposited another ball into the back of the net shortly after (18:19) with Lane Foushée stealing an attempted clearance from the Maritime back line. With no defender in his path, Foushée sent the ball screaming past the keeper to lengthen the Bates lead for his second goal on the year. 

Bates decided they did not want to leave any doubt in the first half, with Corman again beating the keeper in the 29th minute (28:50) to provide more padding to a now 3-0 Bobcat lead. Smith and Noah Greiff added to their assist tallies on the play with stellar passing.

With 30 minutes passed in the first half, the aforementioned Smith snatched the ball from the Maritime defense, and, with two assists on the night, decided instead to fill his personal goal column, lengthening the gap to an overwhelming 4-0 lead with his tally at 30:33.

Just 1:06 (31:39) later, Amir Thomas gathered a beautiful feed from Rawson Welch, and with fans on their feet and teammates ready to celebrate, the junior snuck the ball past the outstretched hands of the keeper to bury the first half stat line in a frenzy of goals.
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With Bates coming out of the break with a healthy 5-0 cushion, the second half started fairly quietly until a foul in the 63rd minute (62:53) set the stage for a free kick goal from Gerard Costa Farré, making it 6-0 'Cats.

In the dying embers of the match, Tife Agunloye, with seven shots on the night finally put one in (assist by Andrew Goddard) at the 81st minute (80:54), extending the Bates lead to 7-0.

Ollie Schiff Stein joined the scoring party for the 'Cats, bending a shot around the wall of MMA defenders to secure his first collegiate goal, adding to a dominant 8-0 lead for the home squad. 

Closing out the Bobcats' scoring attack, Cesar Hoover put a boot into an initial save by Maine Maritime goalkeeper, Justin Labelle, to score Bates' final goal of the night and seal a 9-0 triumph.

The Bobcats return to action this Saturday with a visit to NESCAC-rival Amherst College at 2:30 p.m.