LEWISTON, Maine -- Bates women's soccer fired shot after shot at the Middlebury goal but couldn't find the back of the net, falling 1-0 on a second-half goal that proved to be the difference.
The Bobcats (7-6-1, 3-6 NESCAC) came out firing, tallying 16 shots in the first half. Sophomore
Aurora Rella-Neill (Pownal, Vt.) had a shot blocked in the ninth minute, and junior captain
Gwyn Jamison (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) rattled the crossbar moments later. First-year
Clara Oldenburg (Bangor, Maine) forced a save in the 10th minute, while Rella-Neill sent another attempt high and right in the 11th. Jamison continued to apply pressure, forcing saves in the 11th and 15th minutes, while first-year
Whitney Ladich (Scottsdale, Ariz.) fired wide left in the 14th.
Middlebury (8-2-4, 5-2-2 NESCAC) goalkeeper Aubrey Silvestri made 10 saves on the day, keeping the Panthers in the game with a series of stops. She turned away shots from sophomore
Keelan Mader (Sturbridge, Mass.) in the 21st minute, sophomore
Carolyn Kelly (Wynnewood, Pa.) in the 24th and 35th minutes, and senior
Nicole Tandetnitskiy (Newton, Mass.) in the 44th minute. Oldenburg (25th minute), Mader (30th), first-year
Carla Osborne (Montclair, N.J.) (38th) and Ladich (42nd) also had chances sail wide or high.
At the other end, Bates senior goalkeeper
Sydney Litney (Schaumburg, Ill.) made the lone save of the first half, turning away a shot in the opening minute as the teams headed into halftime scoreless.
Bates continued to push after the break. Ladich forced saves in the 52nd and 56th minutes before sending another attempt wide left in the 57th, while Rella-Neill missed high and right in the 61st. Middlebury broke through in the 69th minute, scoring off a free kick to take a 1-0 lead.
The Bobcats responded with a flurry of chances. Osborne sent an attempt high shortly after the goal, and Rella-Neill forced another save in the 71st minute, but Bates couldn't find the equalizer. Litney finished with four saves to keep the deficit at one, while late opportunities from Oldenburg, Tandetnitskiy and Mader came up short as the Bobcats fell just short despite controlling stretches of the contest.
Bates returns to action for its regular-season finale on Tuesday, October 27, traveling to Waterville, Maine, to face Colby at 7 p.m.
