LEWISTON, Maine — Despite a strong start and multiple lead changes, the Bates College men's lacrosse team fell to Wesleyan University, 16-12, on Saturday at Garcelon Field.
The Bobcats (6-2, 2-2 NESCAC) came out firing, scoring the game's first three goals in a span of less than two minutes.
Javi Werner opened the scoring at the 9:54 mark of the first quarter off an assist from
Jack Goldbach. Less than a minute later,
Xander Frey found the back of the net on a feed from
Connor Hartman to make it 2-0.
Riley McClure capped the run with a goal at 8:08, assisted by Werner, giving Bates an early 3-0 advantage.
Wesleyan (5-1, 3-0 NESCAC) responded with a four-goal run to close the first quarter, taking a 4-3 lead. James Bailey sparked the Cardinals' comeback with a goal at 7:22, followed by scores from CK Giancola (6:58), Ben Burns (5:21), and Jack Raba (3:59).
Bates reclaimed the momentum in the second quarter, scoring four times to take a 7-6 lead into halftime.
Luke Breen's tally at 7:35 off a pass from Goldbach ignited the surge. Hartman tied the game at 6-6 with a goal at 5:08, assisted by McClure, and Werner struck again at 3:48 to put Bates in front.
Gray Doyle added to the lead with 3:18 remaining in the half, finishing another setup from Goldbach.
The Bobcats continued to battle in a tightly contested third quarter. Hartman notched his second goal at 13:18, with
Mason Proutt picking up the assist, giving Bates an 8-6 lead. Wesleyan quickly answered with goals from Giancola (11:50) and Gavin Lechner (6:35) to tie it at 8-8. Bates briefly went back in front when
Max Galvin scored his first goal of the season at 3:23, but Charlie Hoban's goal at 3:30 and a man-up goal from Lechner at 2:16 gave Wesleyan a 10-9 edge heading into the final period.
Bates showed resilience once more, tying the game at 10-10 when Frey scored his second of the game at 13:55, assisted by
Denzel Evans. After Wesleyan regained the lead, Frey completed his hat trick at 7:54 on a pass from Hartman, and
Miles Schmidt scored just 31 seconds later to put Bates ahead 12-11.
However, the Cardinals took over down the stretch, scoring the game's final five goals to secure the 16-12 victory. Giancola proved to be the difference-maker with two goals in the closing minutes, part of his game-high six-goal performance.
Goldbach dished out a game-best four assists, while Hartman (2 G, 2 A) and Werner (2 G, A) combined for seven points of their own. Goalie Andrew Toland made 14 saves for Bates. Wesleyan's Conor Selfridge was stellar in net, recording 19 saves to earn the win.
Bates now prepares to host Wheaton this Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. in non-conference play.
