AMHERST, Mass. -- The No. 13 nationally ranked Bates field hockey team opened the scoring in Saturday's showdown with No. 11 Amherst, but the host Mammoths scored four unanswered goals after that to defeat the Bobcats 4-1 in NESCAC action. 

Despite the final score, the game was evenly played, with both teams tallying eight shots, with Amherst (3-3, 1-2 NESCAC) putting seven on goal and Bates (3-2, 1-1 NESCAC) putting six on goal. Each team recorded a pair of penalty corners.

The Bobcats struck first when senior Molly Harmon (Farmington, Maine) found classmate Kami Lambert (Augusta, Maine) in the seventh minute of action for the latter's fifth goal of the season and Harmon's second assist so far this year.

Muffie Mazambani tallied the equalizer in the ninth minute for the Mammoths, and after that, it was the Sam Maynard show. Maynard put the Mammoths ahead for good in the 14th minute and added two more goals after that for a hat trick. Mazambani assisted on the final goal of the contest, which came in the 45th minute. 

Sara Nidus made five saves in the cage for the Mammoths and sophomore Kaili Jacobsen (Fairfield, Conn.) made three saves for Bates.

The Bobcats return to action Sunday when they visit No. 1 nationally ranked Middlebury. The contest gets underway at 12pm.