BRUNSWICK, Maine -- The No. 7 nationally ranked Bates field hockey team pulled off their largest come-from-behind victory in at least 40 years when they rallied from down three goals to defeat No. 13 Bowdoin 4-3 in overtime Tuesday night in NESCAC action.

With the win, Bates (7-0, 3-0 NESCAC) is officially off to the program's best start since the 1973 team began their season 8-0. The 1983 Bobcats started 7-0-2, but were just 6-0-1 through seven games. The 2025 Bobcats are also 3-0 in NESCAC play for the first time in program history.

Game-by-game results from more than 40 years ago are tricky to find, but Tuesday's remarkable win might be the biggest comeback victory in Bates field hockey history.

Senior captain Brooke Moloney-Kolenberg (Winchester, Mass.) scored both the game-tying and the game-winning goals on Tuesday. 

With the Bobcats down 3-2 and just over one minute remaining in regulation, junior Elena Agosti (North Andover, Mass.) stole the ball from the Polar Bears and drew a foul, earning Bates a penalty corner. First-year Ameera Dhillon (Surrey, British Columbia) delivered the insert to the top of the circle and Moloney-Kolenberg received the pass, lined up her shot, and found the back of the lower left side of the cage for the 60th minute equalizer.

Bates survived an early penalty corner for Bowdoin (5-1, 2-1 NESCAC) in the seven-on-seven overtime. Then in the 70th minute, Moloney-Kolenberg struck again. Sophomore Elsa Copeland (Toronto, Ontario) pushed the ball down the field on the far side and found Moloney-Kolenberg unmarked in the shooting circle. The senior captain one-timed Copeland's pass home for the game-winner.

The game did not start well for Bates, with the Polar Bears earning a penalty corner in the seventh minute of action. Emily Ferguson was able to find Maddie Mrva for the early tally. Then the Polar Bears converted their second consecutive penalty corner to start the contest, with Ella Davies connecting with Mackay Bommer in the 21st minute for a 2-0 Bowdoin lead.

Mrva keyed the Bowdoin offense in the 29th minute, ripping a shot from the top of the circle that got deflected in by Fei Yang-Sady for a 3-0 advantage.

Down 3-0 at halftime, the Bobcats flipped the script in the second half.

In the 37th minute, Copeland used her speed to push the ball down the field, finding a wide open first-year Sophia Cordoni (San Jose, Calif.) in transition for an easy tally as the Bowdoin keeper had come out of the cage to try to stop Copeland.

Despite the third-quarter goal, Bowdoin still maintained a 3-1 lead until the Bobcats struck again in the 57th minute. 

This time it was Agosti beating the Bowdoin defense on the far side, slipping a pass by everyone to the right post, where junior Sophie O'Sullivan (Wellesley, Mass.) was waiting. O'Sullivan calmly tapped it home and Bates was within one with 3:29 remaining.

Bowdoin's lead didn't last much longer, as Moloney-Kolenberg took things from there, handing the Polar Bears their first loss of the season and their fifth straight to Bates.

Sophomore goalkeeper Ava Donohue (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) made a season-high seven saves for the Bobcats. Lauren O'Donald matched her with seven saves for Bowdoin.

The Bobcats tallied 14 shots, 11 on goal, while Bowdoin finished with 11 shots, 10 on goal. After converting their first two penalty corners, Bowdoin only got three more and did not convert any of them. After not converting their first six penalty corners, Bates made their seventh one count to tie the game. 

Bates is back in action Saturday when they visit No. 9 nationally ranked Amherst. The game gets underway at 11 a.m.