LEWISTON, Maine -- Bates men's lacrosse went toe-to-toe with 10th-ranked Amherst before falling in a nail-biting 8–7 decision Saturday at Garcelon Field. The Bobcats honored 10 seniors in a pregame ceremony as the garnet and white fell just short of a Senior Day upset.

Down 7–5 entering the fourth, Bates clawed back behind sophomore Riley McClure, who notched his third goal of the day at 8:11 off a feed from Xander Frey. Just over a minute later, Frey did it himself, sending in an unassisted tally to tie the game at 6:51, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

With just 1:12 remaining, Amherst's Alex Giacobbe played heartbreaker, finishing a pass from Dylan Hsu for a hat trick and the game-winner.

Bates opened the scoring early on, capitalizing on a man-up opportunity after a pushing penalty on Amherst (9-2, 6-2 NESCAC) a 2:43 in the first. Connor Hartman ripped home the first goal just 11 seconds later, assisted by Frey.

The teams traded blows through the second quarter. McClure struck twice in the frame — the first off a feed from Mason Proutt at 13:37, then again with help from Hartman at 3:57. Hartman added a solo tally at 2:07, giving the Bobcats a 4–2 edge. Amherst responded with a pair of late goals — including a man-up strike from Willie Doyle at 0:47 — to even the score 4–4 at halftime.

Defensively, goalkeeper Andrew Toland (59:04) kept Bates in the game with 15 saves, including a number of point-blank denials throughout. McClure (three goals), Hartman (two goals, assist), and Frey (goal, two assists) led the way offensively, while senior Ben Miller proved to be a disruptor with four ground balls and four caused turnovers.

The entire Bates starting lineup consisted of the Bobcats' 10 seniors, including: Quinn Berry, Luke Breen, Tyler Chang, Colton Curtis, Denim Evans, Denzel Evans, Luke Heafey. Cooper Lance, Miller, and Javi Werner.

Bates (8-6, 3-6 NESCAC) will sit idle until Wednesday, Apr. 23 when the garnet and white hosts Colby at 7:00 p.m. in the 2025 regular-season finale.