LEWISTION, Maine -- A Wil Masterson goal 1:02 into overtime sealed a 16-15 Bates College victory Wednesday evening on Garcelon Field as the Bobcats clinched a season-opening triumph for the first time since 2021 with their win over visiting Emerson College.

A trip to OT was the furthest thing from Bates' mind as the garnet and white, led by nine first-half points (three goals, six assists) from first-year Gray Doyle, carried a seemingly-commanding 13-5 surplus into intermission. The visiting Lions (1-2) turned the tables in the second stanza as Emerson dominated by outscoring the Bobcats, 10-2, over the final 30:00.

With Bates clinging to an ever-so-slim 15-14 lead, Emerson's Grady Behrhorst (Evergreen, Colo.) fired in the equalizer with just six seconds left in regulation, erasing the Lions' eight-goal deficit, while also sending the Bobcats to their first extra-session contest since Feb. 26, 2020 at Babson.

Masterson, who topped the 2023 squad with 23 tallies, registered the first of his senior year in clutch fashion, sending the Bobcats and their fans into sheer euphoria with his game-winner with 2:58 remaining in overtime.

Despite the final score, Bates (1-0) owned the stat sheet, outshooting Emerson by a margin of 57-35 (37-24 on goal) while also grabbing 22 more ground balls (61-39) and controlling 26 of the 35 total face-offs.

The aforementioned Doyle netted three of the Bobcats' six first-quarter goals, while assisting on six of his team's seven tallies in the second period. Riley McClure also enjoyed a stellar collegiate debut as the fellow first-year pocketed two goals of his own in the victory.

Alex Horowitz, Ben Miller, and Javi Werner also provided two goals apiece in the instant classic. First-year Miles Schmidt was an absolute beast at the face-off, winning 20-of-28 attempts while also securing a game-high 12 ground balls.  The Seattle, Wash. product also provided the helper on the Bobcats' 14th goal of the evening.

Nicholas Fulgione (Sr. North Andover, Mass.) paced the Lions with five goals and three assists in the setback. Jack Burns (Jr.-Clarksville, Md.) also added five tallies for Emerson.

Andrew Toland (1-0), with his nine saves over 61:02 of action, locked down the goalkeeping victory in his first-ever appearance sporting the garnet and white. Malcolm McGrath (Ridgefield, Conn.) did all he could to keep the Lions in contention as the graduate student accounted for 21 saves in the complete-game performance.

Bates now takes to the road for its next three games, starting this Saturday with a non-conference visit to Skidmore College (2-0) in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Start time is slated for 12:00 p.m.