MEDFORD, Mass. -- In a performance that will be remembered for years to come by Bates field hockey fans, sophomore goalkeeper Ava Donohue made a season-high 11 saves and the Bobcats won their second straight shootout by a count of 2-1 to prevail 1-0 over the Middlebury College Panthers on Saturday in the NESCAC semifinals, advancing to the conference championship game for the second consecutive year.

With the victory, Bates (14-3) matches the program record for wins in one season and they'll take on Wesleyan (14-3) in the NESCAC championship game Sunday at noon on the Tufts University campus.

Goals by senior captain Brooke Moloney-Kolenberg (Winchester, Mass.) and junior Sophie O'Sullivan (Wellesley, Mass.) were enough in the shootout for Bates to win, as Donohue (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) stopped four of five Middlebury attempts, just like she did a week ago in a shootout win over Hamilton in the NESCAC quarterfinals at Campus Ave. Field.

After a scoreless 80 minutes, Middlebury goalie Izzy Redzic stopped the first Bates attempt in the shootout, putting the pressure on Donohue. Megan Fuqua made a move to her left, stumbled slightly, but got her footing back and went back to her right, attempting a shot only to have Donohue on her so tight that the shot went nowhere. 

Up stepped Moloney-Kolenberg, and for the second straight week, she came through. The senior captain went to her right before calmly shooting back to her left, freezing Redzic and converting the attempt for a 1-0 Bates lead. But the Panthers had the answer thanks to Claire McMichael, who made a good move to her right to go around Donohue and score, knotting the shootout at one apiece through two.

Redzic was able to deny the next Bates attempt, so it was up to Donohue again to keep things tied up. Grace Keefe's first attempt for Middlebury was no good but the officials ruled that she would get a chance to do it over. Her second try was a back-handed attempt that Donohue deflected wide over the line. 

O'Sullivan's shot proved to be the winner, although a lot of the shootout remained at the time. She was able to deliver a back-handed attempt that went through the legs of Redzic into the back of the cage, putting the Bobcats up 2-1. 

Middlebury still potentially had two more chances. An attempt by Eliza Cho went high and Redzic stopped the final Bates try to give the Panthers new life. Addie Chandler had the final attempt for the Panthers and Donohue was able to dive and deny her shot, deflecting the ball into Chandler's leg. That stopped play and ended the attempt.

Bates had won. The team mobbed Donohue as they celebrated another remarkable victory over the seven-time defending NCAA Division III champions. 

The Bobcats survived 14 Middlebury penalty corners in regulation, but did not allow the Panthers to earn one in either overtime period. Meanwhile, the Bobcats recorded just three penalty corners and did not convert any of them. One of those opportunities came in double overtime. Redzic was able to stop a shot from straight on by junior captain Haley Dwight (West Newbury, Mass.) off a feed from Moloney-Kolenberg.

The Panthers (12-5) tallied 24 shots to 10 for the Bobcats in the contest. Redzic made three saves and Lily Stockwell notched a defensive save on an attempt by Bates first-year Sophia Cordoni (San Jose, Calif.) in the 24th minute. 

Bates, the third seed, and Wesleyan, the fourth seed, are both playing for their first conference championship. The Bobcats finished NESCAC runner-up last year, falling in a shootout in the championship game to Tufts. But the host Jumbos lost to the Cardinals 2-0 in the other semifinal game on Saturday, leaving just Bates and Wesleyan standing this year. The Bobcats defeated the Cardinals 1-0 in Lewiston back on Sept. 20, the only team to blank Wesleyan this season. But the Cardinals are on fire, having won 10 straight games. 

This marks the second straight year the Bobcats have upended Middlebury in the conference semifinals. Last season, they defeated the top-seeded Panthers 2-1 on their home turf. This year, they beat the second-seeded Panthers on a neutral field at Tufts, avenging their regular season road loss.

Only four field hockey teams (Middlebury, Bowdoin, Tufts, Williams) in the 25-year history of the NESCAC tournament have won the conference title and this is the first time since 2005 that the championship game does not involve Tufts or Middlebury.

Bates field hockey had never made a conference championship game until last season. Now, they've made it two years in a row.