Bates College

LEWISTON, Maine -- The visiting No. 2 nationally ranked Middlebury field hockey team scored the first two goals of the game on Saturday and hung on to defeat the No. 20 ranked Bobcats by a count of 4-2 at Campus Ave. Field.

The Panthers (12-2, 8-1 NESCAC) got on the board thanks to a penalty stroke in the 13th minute. Addie Chandler converted the opportunity for her 11th goal of the season.

Early in the second quarter, the visitors added to the lead when Chandler found Hadley Crowther for an insurance tally in the 16th minute.

The Bobcats (8-6, 3-6 NESCAC) answered in the 26th minute. Bates earned a penalty corner and junior Caroline Nowak (Pelham, N.Y.) delivered the insert and the Bobcats worked the ball around the perimeter of the circle. An entry feed got tipped by junior captain Elsa Copeland (Toronto, Ontario) to the post where Nowak was waiting to redirect it home for her second goal of the season.

Down only 2-1 at halftime, the Bobcats hung with the Panthers in the third quarter, as neither team scored. Senior captain Haley Dwight (West Newbury, Mass.) made a defensive save in the 35th minute to keep the margin at one goal.

Junior goalkeeper Ava Donohue (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. ) made a pair of saves to start the fourth quarter. But the Panthers earned another penalty stroke. And this time Megan Fuqua converted in the 50th minute for a 3-1 lead.

Bates was able to answer via another penalty corner. Nowak delivered the insert to senior Elena Agosti (North Andover, Mass.) and Agosti ripped a shot on goal. Dwight made a diving attempt and successfully redirected it into the back of the cage for her fifth goal of the year.

But Middlebury had the response they needed less than two minutes later, as Emma McNealy scored unassisted to provide the final margin of victory for the Panthers.

The Panthers recorded 11 shots, with 10 on goal. Bates finished the game with five shots, all on goal.

Bates successfully scored on two of their four penalty corners. However, the two penalty strokes the Panthers earned and converted turned out to be the difference.

Saturday was Senior Day for Bates, and the Bobcats recognized seniors Sophie O'Sullivan (Wellesley, Mass.), Agosti, Dwight, Sophie Jullienne (Hong Kong, China), and captain Amy LaBelle (Barrington, R.I.) before the game.

The Bobcats are back in action Tuesday when they face a must-win game at Colby. The action starts at 3 p.m.