Bates College

GORHAM, Maine -- Bates field hockey junior captain Elsa Copeland scored a pair of goals and the No. 21 nationally ranked Bobcats cruised to a 3-0 win at the University of Southern Maine Tuesday night.

It's the 10th straight win for the Bobcats (6-3) over the Huskies (7-5).

Copeland (Toronto, Ontario) got Bates on the board in the fifth minute of action. Junior Caroline Nowak (Pelham, N.Y.) delivered the insert on a penalty corner to senior captain Amy LaBelle (Barrington, R.I.), who passed it back to Nowak on the goal line. Nowak found Copeland in the center and Copeland found the back of the cage for her fourth goal of the season. 

Early in the second quarter, Copeland and the Bobcats struck again. Once again, Nowak delivered the insert to LaBelle on a penalty corner, and once again LaBelle passed it back to Nowak who found Copeland in the center for a carbon copy of a goal. Copeland, a second team All-NESCAC and All-Region selection last year, leads the Bobcats with five goals through nine games. It's the first two assists of the season for Nowak.

The Bobcats earned a penalty stroke in the 22nd minute and junior Bella Bigelow (Alburgh, Vt.) converted the opportunity for her third tally of the season. All three of Bigelow's goals this year have come on penalty strokes. 

Neither team scored the rest of the way. The Bobcats tallied 15 shots, with eight on goal. USM managed just three shots, with one on goal. Bates earned an impressive 19 penalty corners, with the Huskies picking up three penalty corners of their own. 

Junior goalkeeper Ava Donohue (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) recorded her second straight shutout and her third of the season. She only needed to make one save Tuesday for Bates. Haylee Romasco made three saves for the Huskies in 30 minutes and Allison Marines did not allow a goal in the second half, making two saves along the way. Izzy Folsom recorded the only shot on goal for USM.

The Bobcats have won five of their past six games. They are back in action this Saturday when they return to NESCAC play, visiting Connecticut College for a game that gets underway at 1 p.m.