LEWISTON, Maine -- Bates field hockey and men's soccer are both off to fast starts in 2025 and on Tuesday they made history, with each team receiving their highest national rankings on record from their respective coaches associations. 

Led by head coach Dani Kogut, the field hockey team (8-0, 4-0 NESCAC) jumps from No. 7 to No. 5 in the Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III National Coaches Poll after road wins over Bowdoin and Amherst last week. The Bobcats are off to their best start since 1973 and are coming off an NCAA quarterfinals appearance last year. The NFHCA has been conducting a national top 25 poll each week since 1997. 

Led by head coach Ben Brewster, the men's soccer team (5-1-1, 2-1-1 NESCAC) surges from unranked to No. 13 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll after a 3-0 road win over defending NCAA Division III champion Amherst. It's the men's soccer team's first time entering the Top 25 since 2000, when they checked in at 24th. The United Soccer Coaches (formerly the National Soccer Coaches Association of America) has been conducting a national top 25 poll each week since 1996.

With a win Tuesday night at Husson, the men's soccer team would achieve their best start to a season since 2005. If the field hockey team beats No. 7 Williams on Saturday, it would be their first 9-0 start in program history.