BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Bates men's lacrosse team battled against No. 8 Bowdoin Wednesday night at Whittier Field but ultimately fell, 17-7, in NESCAC action.

Bowdoin (10-1, 5-1 NESCAC) set the tone early, outscoring Bates by a 6-1 margin in the first quarter. The Bobcats' lone tally in the opening frame came from first-year Xander Frey, who found the back of the net at the 4:27 mark off an assist from Gray Doyle.

The Polar Bears continued their offensive surge in the second, extending their lead to 8-2 at the intermission. Riley McClure added a goal for Bates as time expired in the half in an effort to keep the Bobcats within striking distance.

In the third frame, The aforementioned Doyle deposited a goal for the road team at the 9:29 mark,  followed by an unassisted tally by Jack Goldbach at 4:40. Ben Miller joined the scoring column with a goal of his own with 2:45 left (assisted by Hartman) to bring the score to 12-5 Bowdoin entering the final period.

The fourth quarter saw Bowdoin put the game out of reach with five more goals, despite a pair of late scores from Goldbach (11:26) and McClure (6:17) for the Bobcats.

Patrick Fitzgerald led the hosts with three goals, while Chris Berry, Sam Raye-Steiner, Jason Lach, and Huck Trafton each added two apiece. Trafton also dished out a game-high four assists.

Bates goalkeeper Andrew Toland (52:36) recorded eight saves in the loss, while Bowdoin's Robert Hobbs (55:51) countered with seven. The Polar Bears outshot the Bobcats 48-29 and held a 19-8 advantage when it came to face-offs. Bowdoin also dominated with a 39-13 groundball differential.

The garnet and white (7-4, 2-4 NESCAC) remains on the road to take on Connecticut College this Saturday at 1:00 p.m.