LEWISTON, Maine -- The No. 11 nationally ranked Bates field hockey team gave it all they had in a tight 2-1 loss to No. 6 Tufts Saturday afternoon at Garcelon Field. 

The Jumbos (9-2, 6-2 NESCAC) went ahead for good in the fourth quarter despite the Bobcats (8-4, 4-3 NESCAC) out-shooting them by a count of 5-1 in the stanza. 

With the score tied at one, Tufts earned a penalty corner in the 49th minute. Kayleigh McDonald delivered the insert. After a couple passes, she got the ball back along the end line and delivered a quick cross that Kylie Rosenquest was able to tip in by diving at the ball on the right side of the cage. 

Now down 2-1, the Bobcats refused to back down, earning three penalty corners down the stretch. Unfortunately, none of them led to points, as Tufts goalkeeper Lydia Eastburn stood on her head. She made all four of her saves on the afternoon in the last nine minutes of the game.

The game was mostly a stalemate before the wild fourth quarter. 

Both teams tallied goals in the opening 15 minutes. Tufts got on the board first in the seventh minute of action when Claire Gavin sent an absolute rocket from the far edge of the shooting area into the right side of the cage for a 1-0 Jumbo lead.

But the Bobcats answered, thanks to senior Anna Cote (New Gloucester, Maine), who scored her team-leading seventh goal of the season. In the 10th minute, first-year Izzy Grol (San Diego, Calif.) found Cote across midfield. The All-American did the rest, as she moved the ball into the left side of the shooting circle and tallied the equalizer with an elevated shot that found the back-right side of the cage.

The game remained tied until the fourth quarter, as the teams settled in to a defensive battle. First-year goalkeeper Ava Donohue (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) tallied five saves on the day for Bates, while sophomore Haley Dwight (West Newbury, Mass.) notched her team-leading fourth defensive save of the season to keep the game tied at one in the third quarter.

Despite playing arguably their best quarter of the game over the final 15 minutes, the Bobcats fell just short and will look to bounce back next Saturday when they visit Connecticut College. The action begins at 11 a.m.