LEWISTON, Maine – The Bates College men's lacrosse team put on an impressive performance Tuesday evening at Russell Street Track and Field by defeating Wheaton College, 22-8.

Bates wasted no time seizing momentum, jumping out to a 4-1 lead in the opening quarter. First-year Jack Goldbach opened the scoring at 12:35 in the first quarter before Jake Anastas and Riley McClure, who would finish with a game-high five goals.

The second quarter saw the Bobcats assert even more control, outscoring Wheaton, 7-2. Connor Hartman (14:14) and Luke Breen (13:26) netted back-to-back goals in the opening minutes before Gray Doyle (11:51), Sam Scola (9:36), and McClure (8:49, 4:12) added to the barrage. A man-up goal from Doyle, assisted by Goldbach, at 1:31 capped off a relentless first half that sent Bates into the break leading 11-3.

Wheaton, with four goals in the third quarter, attempted to battle back, but the Bobcats answered with five of their own to keep the game out of reach. McClure struck twice more (5:19, 3:30), while Liam Rule (12:46) and Javi Werner (1:23) added tallies to push Bates' advantage to 16-7 heading into the final period.

The Bobcats closed the game in strong fashion, scoring six goals in the fourth quarter while holding Wheaton to just one. Jack Markert found the back of the net three times in the period (13:00, 11:54, 3:18), including a man-up goal assisted by Denzel Evans. Jack Wright (4:45) and TJ Underhill (11:06) also contributed late scores as Bates put an exclamation mark on the win.

At the face-off, Miles Schmidt dominated, winning 15 of 20 draws, while Graham Ray was perfect, going 8-for-8. In goal, Andrew Toland made five saves in 47:56 of action to earn the goalkeeping victory.

The Bobcats (7-2) controlled the game from the opening whistle, out-shooting the Lyons (6-3) by a staggering 54-29 margin and winning 27 of 34 face-offs. Thr garnet anf white also capitalized on special teams, converting 3-of-4 extra-man opportunities.

Bates looks to continue its strong play as they return to NESCAC action this Saturday with a pivotal conference matchup scheduled at Trinity College (1:00 p.m.).