MEDFORD, Mass. -- The No. 5 nationally ranked Bates field hockey team couldn't recover from an early deficit in a 3-1 loss to No. 7 Tufts Saturday afternoon in NESCAC action.
Senior captain
Brooke Moloney-Kolenberg (Winchester, Mass.) scored her team-leading sixth goal of the season to cut the deficit to one in the fourth quarter.
The Jumbos (10-2, 7-1 NESCAC) got on the board first in the 25th minute of action, taking advantage of a penalty stroke. Hannah Murray launched a shot into the upper-left portion of the cage for a 1-0 Tufts lead.
Tufts led 1-0 at the half and the hosts added to the lead in the third quarter. In the 39th minute, the Jumbos earned a penalty corner. Eleanor Helm delivered the insert and Eleanor Luft ripped a shot from the top of the circle to make the score 2-0.
After being out-shot 16-4 in the first three quarters, the Bobcats (9-2, 5-2 NESCAC) flipped the script in the fourth quarter, tallying six shots to two for Tufts. They missed a golden opportunity in the 54th minute as a shot on a penalty stroke got denied by Tufts goalkeeper Isabel Ginns.
But Bates did get on the board in the 55th minute. The Bobcats earned a penalty corner and sophomore
Caroline Nowak (Pelham, N.Y.) delivered the insert to Moloney-Kolenberg and the senior captain was able to find the back of the cage, giving the Jumbos reason to sweat over the final five minutes of action.
Less than a minute later, the Bobcats earned a pair of penalty corners, but could not take advantage. A shot by Moloney-Kolenberg was turned away by Tufts goalkeeper Lydia Eastburn in the 57th minute and Hannah Biccard provided the hosts with their final margin of victory, scoring off a penalty corner in the 60th minute, with an assist to Claire Casey.
The Jumbos finished with 18 shots (11 on goal) to 10 for Bates (six on goal). Tufts earned nine penalty corners to six for the Bobcats. Sophomore goalkeeper
Ava Donohue (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) made a season-high eight saves for Bates in the loss. Eastman finished with four saves, playing every minute except for the penalty stroke, which Ginns entered momentarily to handle.
Bates is back in action on Wednesday when the Bobcats travel to Biddeford, Maine to take on the University of New England at 6 p.m.
