LEWISTON, Maine -- The visiting No. 18 nationally ranked Middlebury College Panthers never trailed as they handed the Bates men's lacrosse team their first loss of the season by a score of 17-11 Saturday afternoon at Garcelon Field.

The Bobcats (5-1, 2-1 NESCAC) trailed 4-2 after the first quarter, and the Panthers (2-3, 1-2 NESCAC) scored the first four goals of the second quarter to build a secure lead that Bates never seriously challenged.

Billy Curtis had a big day for the visitors, scoring five goals, dishing out three assists, and recording five ground balls. Sophomore Riley McClure (Georgetown, Mass.) paced the Bobcats with three goals and one assist. Senior Ben Miller (Scarsdale, N.Y.) also had a strong day for Bates, tallying one goal, one assist, three ground balls, and a game-high three caused turnovers.

Surprisingly, faceoffs turned out to be the difference in the game, as Bates entered the contest having won more than 80 percent of their faceoffs on the season. That was not the case on Saturday, with Middlebury winning 22-31 faceoffs, led by William Munroe, who won 18-26 faceoffs and recorded a game-high nine ground balls.

Hayden Kern earned the win in goal for Middlebury, making seven saves on 15 shots faced in 53:35 minutes. Middlebury tallied 43 shots on the day, to just 31 for Bates. The Panthers dominated ground balls by a count of 45-27.

The Bobcats will look to bounce back this Wednesday when they host Maine Maritime Academy at 5 p.m.