LEWISTON, Maine -- In their final regular-season game, the Bates men's lacrosse team powered past NESCAC rival Colby with a resilient 13–10 victory at Garcelon Field. Behind a dominant third quarter and a career-high five-goal performance from sophomore Riley McClure, the Bobcats secured the No. 6 seed in the upcoming NESCAC Championship Tournament with the triumph. 

Bates wasted no time setting the tone early as Connor Hartman opened the scoring at 11:19 with a man-up goal assisted by Xander Frey. Just nine seconds later, Cooper Lance found the net unassisted to give Bates a 2–0 lead. McClure tallied his 30th goal of the season at 4:28, and Frey added a fourth for the Bobcats at 2:32 off a dish from Denzel Evans. Colby responded late with goals from Evan DeVita (3:29) and Easton Bello (0:18), closing the gap to 4–2 after one.

The second quarter slowed down offensively but remained intense. Colby's Bennett Goller cut the lead to one at 13:18 on a setup from Nick Sokolosky. Bates answered at 3:44 with an unassisted goal from Jack Goldbach. Neither team found the net again, sending Bates into the half with a 5–3 advantage.

The Bobcats dominated the third frame, outscoring Colby 6–3. McClure started the run with a goal at 13:01, assisted by Liam Rule. Goller struck back for Colby at 11:28, but Bates then reeled off four unanswered goals—Hartman at 10:12 (from Javi Werner), Miller at 9:46 (assisted by McClure), McClure again at 7:09, and Miller once more at 6:45. Colby attempted to stop the bleeding with goals from Gavin Rothenberg (2:42) and a last-second tally by DeVita (0:01), but Bates held an 11–6 lead heading into the fourth.

McClure added his fifth of the day at 13:38 of the fourth, finishing a feed from Frey, before Gray Doyle pushed the lead to 13–7 at 12:05. Colby launched a late rally with three goals—two from Bello (7:24, 3:08) and another from Sokolosky (4:44)—but Bates' defense and goalie Andrew Toland stood tall in the final minutes. Toland recorded 17 saves on the day, helping the Bobcats fend off the late surge and secure the clutch win.

Bates recorded victories on 18 of 25 face-off attempts with Miles Schmidt (11 ground balls) accounting for all 18 wins at the X.

The garnet and white will now travel to Middletown, Conn. to take on No. 3 seed Wesleyan in the quarterfinals this Sunday at noon. The Cardinals, currently ranked No.11 nationally, defeated the Bobcats back on Mar. 22 by a score of 16-12 on Garcelon Field. Bates' nine victories (9-6) is a six-game turnaround from a year ago as the Bobcats head to the postseason for the first time since 2019.