LEWISTON, Maine -- Four different Bobcats found the back of the cage and the No. 8 nationally ranked Bates field hockey team rolled to a 4-0 win over the University of Southern Maine to start the 2025 season Tuesday night at Campus Ave. Field.

The Bobcats (1-0) did not allow the Huskies (1-2) to record a shot in the victory. It's the first time they've held an opponent without a shot since a 10-0 win over Thomas College in 2021. Bates has now won nine in a row over USM and it's the sixth straight year the Bobcats have emerged victorious in their season-opener.

Sophomore Lilly Hogan (Westport, Conn.) got Bates on the board in the 13th minute with a great individual effort. She took the ball on the right side of the field and moved to her left into the back-middle of the circle, firing a shot on the run for her first collegiate goal. 

The Bobcats recorded 10 shots in the first half, but Hogan was the only player to find the back of the cage.

A pair of goals in the third quarter gave Bates a comfortable advantage. Junior Sophie O'Sullivan (Wellesley, Mass.) gathered a pass that had slipped to the end line on the right side. She was able to cut to her left and sneak the ball past USM keeper Eleanor Folsom in the 31st minute for a 2-0 Bates lead. 

Sophomore Elsa Copeland (Toronto, Ontario) set up the third goal of the night for the Bobcats with a perfect cross from the left side of the circle. The centering feed found the stick of senior captain Brooke Moloney-Kolenberg (Winchester, Mass.), who ripped a shot into the right side of the cage. Moloney-Kolenberg's goal in the 39th minute made the score 3-0 in favor of the Bobcats.

Bates earned eight penalty corners on the evening, taking advantage of one in the 51st minute for their final goal of the game. Junior Amy LaBelle (Barrington, R.I.) delivered the insert to the top of the circle and senior captain Lucy Norris (Chicago) stopped the ball to perfection for sophomore Caroline Nowak (Pelham, N.Y.). Nowak fired it home for the second goal of her career, a double assist for LaBelle and Norris, and a 4-0 lead. 

Sophomore Ava Donohue (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) played the first 45 minutes in goal for the Bobcats while senior Kaili Jacobsen (Fairfield, Conn.) played the final 15 minutes. Neither had to make a save. Meanwhile, the Bobcats took 19 shots (nine on goal), forcing Folsom to make three saves in her 45 minutes in goal, and Allison Marines to make two saves over the final 15 minutes. 

Bates is back in action Saturday when the Bobcats visit Hartford, Conn. for their NESCAC opener against Trinity. The action gets underway at 11 a.m.