LEWISTON, Maine – Five different Bobcats scored, including four first-years, as Bates men's soccer rolled to a 5-2 victory over Husson in its 2026 home opener Tuesday night at Russell Street Field.
Bates (2-1-1, 0-1-1 NESCAC) wasted little time getting on the board, taking a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute. First-year
Alex Hensch (Longmeadow, Mass.) scored his first collegiate goal after first-year
Finn Coburn (Scarborough, Maine) got a foot on a cross from junior
Andrew Jean Baptiste (Montvale, N.J.), setting up Hensch for the finish.
Husson (0-3-1) answered in the 23rd minute when Alejandro Castellanos found Miguel Diaz Alvarez with a through ball, and Diaz Alvarez finished to even the score at 1-1.
The Eagles took the lead less than five minutes later. On a corner kick, Diaz Alvarez sent a volley toward the goal that found the head of Santiago Jimenez before Chadi Hamadi finished the play to put Husson ahead 2-1.
Bates responded with 10 minutes remaining in the opening half. A Husson pass into the middle of the field was intercepted by first-year
Marc Chedid (Lexington, Mass.), who promptly found the back of the net for his first collegiate goal. The teams entered halftime tied 2-2.
The Bobcats took control in the second half, scoring three unanswered goals.
Coburn put Bates back in front in the 53rd minute, heading home a perfectly placed cross from junior captain
Hewitt Stevenson (Menlo Park, Calif.). Less than three minutes later, first-year
Bora Ceranoglu (Milton, Mass.) extended the lead to 4-2. Sophomore
Danny Burke (Holliston, Mass.) found Ceranoglu downfield, and he beat his defender before finishing the breakaway.
Bates added one more goal in the 73rd minute when the Bobcats were awarded a penalty kick. Senior captain
Antonio Mesa (Bogotá, Colombia) buried the attempt to complete the 5-2 victory.
The Bobcats finished with a 22-6 advantage in shots, including a 14-5 edge in shots on goal. Junior goalkeeper
George Nassar (Newtonville, Mass.) and first-year
Isaac Kolaczkowski (Beavercreek, Ohio) split time in net. Nassar made two saves, while Kolaczkowski recorded one save in his collegiate debut.
Bates continues non-conference action Saturday, traveling to Babson for a 3:30 p.m. match.
