AMHERST, Mass. — For three electrifying quarters, Bates women's lacrosse had No. 10 Amherst on the ropes. But a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Mammoths turned celebration into heartbreak, as the Bobcats fell 14–11 in a gritty NESCAC showdown Saturday afternoon at Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium.

Bates (7–7, 3–6 NESCAC) led 11–8 entering the final frame behind a balanced scoring attack and sharp goalkeeping from first-year Molly Urbonas (nine saves). But Amherst (9–3, 5–3 NESCAC) erupted for six unanswered goals in the fourth, including a pair in a 28-second span by Emily Petersen, to erase the deficit and take control.

The Bobcats came out swinging, jumping ahead 4–1 thanks to a blistering stretch in the first quarter. Caroline Keating (two goals, three caused turnovers) opened the scoring at 14:30, and after a man-up free-position goal by Julia Roelofs at 12:49, Bates was off and running. Sarah Stavrovich added two quick goals at 10:17 and 8:56, respectively.

Leading 5-3 after one period of action, the second quarter saw more Bobcat firepower. Roelofs netted her second at 12:20, and Lauren Wong buried one at 10:24 off a dime from Lucy Taylor. After a late Amherst goal, Raveis answered with 0:14 left in the half to give Bates a commanding 9–4 lead.

Bates kept its grip early in the third.  Wong struck again on a man-up opportunity at 8:15 and Zoe Schaedle notched a clutch tally with 1:32 remaining, pushing the score to 11–8 heading into the fourth.

But Amherst stormed out of the gate in the final 15 minutes. Petersen struck twice in just under a minute (14:01 and 13:33) to make it 11–10. Sosa tied it on a free-position goal at 10:42, and Bridget Finley (who tied Sosa with four goals on the day) gave the Mammoths the lead for good with-back-to-back tallies at 8:07 and 7:25.

The garnet and white will now sit idle until Wednesday, Apr. 23 when the garnet and white visits No. 3 Colby at 4:30 p.m. in the 2025 regular-season finale.