LEWISTON, Maine -- It's hard to improve on the most wins in program history, but that's exactly what the No. 8 nationally ranked Bates field hockey team is looking to do entering the 2025 season. The campaign gets underway Tuesday evening when they host the University of Southern Maine at 6 p.m. on Campus Ave. Field. 

Bates went 14-7 last year, reaching both the NESCAC championship game and the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time. Along the way they stunned eventual national champion Middlebury in the NESCAC semifinals and beat perennial power Babson in the second round of the NCAA tournament. 

Despite all that success, this year's team is hungry for more.

"We want it badly and we don't want to be stopped in the Elite 8 this year," head coach Dani Kogut said. "We want to be in the National Championship game. That's why we train all the time. That's why we work as hard as we do."

Last year, first team All-American Anna Cote '25 led the Bobcats in both goals (13) and assists (6). With her graduation, Kogut expects the scoring to be much more spread out this season. Senior captain Brooke Moloney-Kolenberg (Winchester, Mass.) is the team's leading returning scorer at nine goals and two assists. She's joined on the front line by senior captain Lucy Norris (Chicago) and junior Sophie O'Sullivan (Wellesley, Mass.), both of whom can find the back of the cage. Norris scored three goals and dished out two assists last season, while O'Sullivan tallied four goals and one assist. 

"We're going to play a really connected style of hockey," Kogut said. "What we're seeing early on is that they're moving the ball really well. I think the scoring will be very spread out across the board this year. We're going to get it done in whatever way we have to get it done."

Sophomore Rose Gordon (North Andover, Mass.) started 20 games as a rookie and plays the all-important center midfield position for the Bobcats.

"She's going to be huge for us again," Kogut said. "She's somebody who can control a lot of the play, and it's been great to see that out of her early in her career." 

Defense is where Bates really shines, as junior captain Haley Dwight (West Newbury, Mass.) leads a unit that's going to be very difficult to score on once again this season. Dwight had a breakout sophomore year, ranking second in all of NCAA Division III with 16 defensive saves. She's joined on defense by the likes of junior Amy LaBelle (Barrington, R.I.) and sophomore Caroline Nowak (Pelham, N.Y.), both of whom saw a lot of playing time last year, with LaBelle making a pair of defensive saves.

"We're returning most of our defense, which we love because we had a super strong unit last year," Kogut said. "And it was something that allowed us to stay in games because we weren't giving up a lot of shots." 

When they do give up shots, the Bobcats might be the envy of the NESCAC in the cage, with sophomore Ava Donohue (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) and senior Kaili Jacobsen (Fairfield, Conn.) both bringing a ton of experience and talent to the goalkeeper position. Donohue posted a record of 12-4 last season, making 73 saves for a save percentage of .777. She was named the Bates Female Rookie of the Year for her efforts. Meanwhile, Jacobsen was the starter two years ago when the Bobcats made the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament, making 59 saves with a save percentage of .694 in 2023.

"Ava had an incredible year last year and made not only the saves she should have, but also some that just kind of wowed us," Kogut said. "She and Kaili are so strong. They push each other daily. They're each other's biggest fans and advocates, and both of them are really incredible keepers. They just play the game so well." 

Bates has six first-years this year and Kogut is pleased with how they're adapting to collegiate field hockey.

"Their game IQ has really been shining through," Kogut said. "The first-years all came in fit and ready to go. They are developing quickly to get in pace with how we want to play, which is naturally going to be different from their high schools and clubs at times."

After the USM game, the Bobcats travel to Hartford, Conn. for their NESCAC opener on Saturday. Then they return home Sunday for a non-conference game with a nationally ranked Lynchburg squad.

"To get to play somebody not in our conference, not from New England, is incredibly valuable to us," Kogut said. "We see a lot of the same opponents every year, so playing a nationally ranked opponent early in the season that's not from our region is going to be huge. We're going to be able to see where we stand, and take some really good lessons out of that." 

Per usual, the NESCAC is stacked this year, with seven teams ranked in the NFHCA preseason top 25 poll. 

"It's the craziest conference ever," Kogut said. "It's a conference where you never know who's going to rise to the actual top at the end of the year because everyone's been working hard out of season and recruiting hard. So, I think it's really going to depend on which team has the best cohesion, the best culture, and can find their groove and get the wins against each other because everyone's going to be good."