LEWISTON, Maine -- The 2025 season was the best in Bates field hockey history, as the Bobcats won the program's first NESCAC title, advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals, and set a new team record for wins in one season with an overall record of 16-4. Now, it's time for the encore.

Head coach Dani Kogut's No. 5 nationally ranked squad opens the 2026 campaign this Sunday at No. 11 Williams, with the action starting at 11 a.m.

"I think it's important to know what mountain you're trying to climb and to acknowledge where you're trying to get to," Kogut said on this week's episode of the Bates Bobcast. "But from there, we're really just focused on the next day and what's going to get us moving in the right direction for that next immediate moment. And the team has done that very, very well the last two seasons." 

The 2026 Bobcats are led by senior captain and NFHCA first team All-American backer Haley Dwight (West Newbury, Mass.), who was also the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year last season. She tied for ninth in NCAA Division III with 10 defensive saves.

"Haley plays with so much guts," Kogut said. "She's never going to stop playing until there's an absolute whistle. She plays through everything and plans three steps ahead. Haley reads the play incredibly well and can see when breakdowns are about to happen. She's very proactive in her defensive approach."

Dwight, junior captain forward Elsa Copeland (Toronto, Ontario), and junior goalkeeper Ava Donohue (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) were all named to the NFHCA 2026 Division III Watchlist, which recognizes field hockey student-athletes who have demonstrated a high level of achievement and are considered among those with strong potential for NFHCA All-Region and All-American consideration this season.

A second team All-Region and second team All-NESCAC selection a year ago, Copeland's game is based on her outstanding speed. She was second on the team in both goals (7) and assists (5) in a breakout season for the talented two-sport athlete who stars for the women's lacrosse team in the spring.

"Elsa has continued to work on her skills as a left-handed player to become more and more versatile," Kogut said. "And so that will increase her ability to move across the field, both left and right, which is really helpful. She's also a great leader. We saw really early on, even back when she was a first-year, that she had something pretty special in just her communication, leadership style, and her dedication to getting better during the 22 hours a day that we aren't on the field."

Donohue was simply a brick wall in the cage during the NESCAC championship run last season, earning NFHCA second team All-Region honors. She tied for third in the NESCAC in save percentage (.804) and ranked first with six shutouts. She became the first Bobcat in program history to be named the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Defensive Player of the Week, making a season-high 11 saves in the NESCAC semifinal as Bates prevailed 1-0 over seven-time defending national champion Middlebury, winning the shootout 2-1. Then in the NESCAC championship game, Donohue matched her performance from the day before, once again making 11 saves as the Bobcats defeated Wesleyan 2-0

"She's just such an incredible goalkeeper with both instinct, her reflexes, her speed, her ability to command the circle," Kogut said. "She's communicating better than ever this season. So we're really excited about what she brought back as a junior."

The Bobcats' calling card is defense, with senior captain Amy LaBelle (Barrington, R.I.) and junior Caroline Nowak (Pelham, N.Y.) joining Dwight and Donohue to form a foursome that makes life quite difficult for opposing teams. Nowak also had a strong season scoring wise for Bates, tallying six goals and two assists last year. She did most of her damage on penalty corners.

"Our backers are incredible assets to that attacking penalty corner unit," Kogut said. "They do a lot of hard work in the backfield and they love coming out for APCs. It's like a reward to get into that attacking circle. So they have a great attitude about it and I think that makes them successful because they enter that space excited for the opportunity to score."

With Copeland leading the way, the Bobcats are deep at the forward spot as well. Senior Sophie O'Sullivan (Wellesley, Mass.) finished last year strong, tallying three goals on the season and converting her shootout attempt in the 1-0 win over Middlebury in the NESCAC semifinal. Sophomore Sophia Cordoni (San Jose, Calif.) is back as well, having scored four goals as a rookie. Kogut is also excited about what first-years Sammy Logan (Mansfield, Mass.) and Grace Mayo (Skowhegan, Maine) can bring to the offense. 

"Sammy is showing a lot of potential in the attacking half of the field and creating some really creative goal scoring opportunities in drills so far," Kogut said. "Grace is going to be a track and field student-athlete and her speed is next level." 

In the midfield, junior Rose Gordon (North Andover, Mass.) and senior Elena Agosti (North Andover, Mass.) make the Bobcats go, helping Bates get from defense to offense and occasionally getting in on the scoring act themselves. Gordon scored the game-winning goal against Williams last year while Agosti had key assists against Bowdoin and the Ephs. Agosti also converted a shootout attempt in a 1-0 win over Hamilton in the NESCAC quarterfinal. Sophomore Catherine Russell (Newton, Mass.) is another key player for Bates, working her way into the starting lineup for the final four games last season. 

Kogut loves how prepared the Bobcats are as they enter a season where they will certainly have a target on their backs as the defending NESCAC champion.

"We are confident with our structure this year," Kogut said. "We have a lot of returning people at every position. We recruited pretty well to fill what we needed to fill. It's a really strong midfield line of both returners and new faces. So we're excited to run with that this year. I think where the fun's going to be had in terms of mid-season shifts is going to be with some more tactical strategies and maybe just switching up how we choose to press or attack or outlet. I think that's where we'll keep people on their toes."