LEWISTON, Maine --The No. 15 nationally ranked Bates men's lacrosse team jumped out to an early lead but could not sustain the momentum, falling 13–10 to No. 2 Bowdoin on Wednesday night at Garcelon Field in NESCAC action.

Bates (7-3, 3-3 NESCAC) led 4-1 late in the opening quarter before Bowdoin (9-0, 6-0 NESCAC) responded with a decisive stretch spanning the second and third periods to take control.

The Bobcats came out sharp, scoring four of the game's first five goals. Henry McCann opened the scoring off a feed from Riley McClure, and Gray Doyle doubled the lead minutes later. After Bowdoin got on the board (4:26), Ryan Chung answered just five seconds later, and McClure added another to give Bates a 4–1 advantage with 3:29 remaining in the first.

Bowdoin closed the quarter with two goals and carried that momentum into the second, scoring four unanswered to turn a three-goal deficit into a 7–4 halftime lead. The Polar Bears added three more in the third to extend the margin to 10–5 heading into the final period.

The lead grew to 12–5 early in the fourth (13:11) before Bates mounted a late push. Xander Frey sparked the rally with a goal midway through the quarter and the Bobcats scored five times in the final 6:46. Goals from McCann, Doyle, McClure, and Frey trimmed the deficit to three with just over a minute remaining (1:09), but Bowdoin was able to close it out.

Frey, McClure, Doyle, and McCann each scored twice to pace the Bates offense, while Connor Hartman dished out a team-high two assists. Dane Jones picked up five ground balls. Miles Schmidt won 9 of 20 face-offs, resulting in a team-best eight grounders.

Bowdoin was led by Sam Raye-Steiner's five goals and a six-point night from Chris Berry (2 goals, 4 assists).

Andrew Toland made 16 saves in goal for Bates, helping keep the Bobcats within striking distance. Alec Delgado earned the victory, recording 14 saves for the Polar Bears.

The garnet and white takes to the road Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. visit to Hamilton on the docket.