Bates Sports News

Cross-Country

The Bates College men's cross country team placed the top two finishers and three of the top four, but rival Bowdoin pulled out a 101-111 team win in a dual meet on Saturday hosted by Bates at Pineland Farms. The meet scored the top 10 finishers for each team to determined the final team score.

Bates senior captain Doug Brecher, took first place, finishing the 5-mile course in a time of 26:21, just a second ahead of fellow captain Devin Dilts. Colman Hatton led the Polar Bears, finishing third in 26:37. Bates' Sean Colligan and Bowdoin's Stan Berkow rounded out the top five finishers.

Bowdoin, ranked fifth in New England, claimed six of the next seven spots, with Thompson Ogilvie, Colin Ogilvie, Scott Longwell and Anthony Colabella, Matthew Hillard and Charlie Berdahl going sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th, respectively. Bates sophomore Troy Calandra was ninth in 27:20.

Bates next competes at the Codfish Bowl, next Saturday at Boston's Franklin Park at 12 p.m.

Bates College women's cross country team defeated rival Bowdoin 90-127 in a dual meet hosted by Bates Saturday at Pineland Farms. The meet scored the top 10 finishers for each team to determined the final team score.

Bates first-year Liz Schulze ran out to the head of the pack and built a healthy lead, ultimately winning the 5-kilometer race in a time of 19:38, 14 seconds ahead of runner-up Lindsay Hodge of Bowdoin.

Bates senior Esther Kendall was edged out by Hodge by one second and settled for third. Rounding out the top 10 overall finishers were Olivia Mackenzie of Bowdoin, Christina Arguleta of Bowdoin, Abby Samuelson of Bates, Katie Bash of Bates, Molly Porcher of Bowdoin, Amanda Solch of Bates and Jennifer Mitton of Bates.

Bates, ranked No. 35 nationally and seventh in New England, next competes at the Codfish Bowl, next Saturday at Boston's Franklin Park at 11 a.m.

Women's Golf

The Bates College women's golf team defeated Bowdoin College in a dual match Saturday hosted by Bates at Prospect Hill Golf Course. With the top four players from each team entering the scoring, Bates won 375-416.

Chelsea Gross shot an 87 for the Polar Bears to earn medalist honors for the day. Bates had the next four finishers in Tessa Pals (91), Mimi Neal (93), Whitney Roller (95) and Brigid Dunn (96).

Top 10 Individuals:
Chelsea Gross, Bowdoin, 87
Tessa Pals, Bates, 91
Mimi Neal, Bates, 93
Whitney Roller, Bates, 95
Brigid Dunn, Bates, 96
Chelsey Young, Bowdoin, 107
Libby Spalding, Bowdoin, 108
Kristina Zaykowski, Bates, 110
Christine McCall, Bates, 111
Molly Nestor, Bowdoin, 114

Field Hockey

The 16th-ranked Amherst College field hockey team earned a 3-2 win over Bates College Sunday afternoon at Gooding Field to improve to 3-1 (2-1 NESCAC) on the season. With the loss, the Bobcats fall to 0-4 overall and 0-3 in NESCAC play.

Senior tri-captain Haley Douds (South Orange, NJ) scored two first-half goals to provide an early spark for Amherst, but it would be sophomore Chrissy Cantore (Hershey, PA) who recorded the eventual game winner in the second half. Cantore’s goal was her team-leading fourth of the season.

Sophomore Emily Vitale (Cheshire, CT) made five saves to earn her third win of the season, while junior Katie McEnroe (Hockessin, DE) stopped six shots for the Bobcats.

Amherst got into an early rhythm and had a 2-0 lead before eight minutes had passed thanks to heads-up play from Douds. Just 6:17 into the game Douds pounced on a loose ball and had a clear view of an open cage after McEnroe had been pulled out of position, scoring her first goal of the season to give the Jeffs a 1-0 lead. One minute and 40 seconds later, Douds struck again when she snuck a shot past McEnroe after receiving a pass from junior Carly Leahy (Weston, MA).

Sixteen minutes into the first half junior Sema Kazarian (Providence, RI) was denied her second goal of the season when her shot on goal was saved by a sprawling Vitale. Kazarian capitalized on her next scoring opportunity two minutes later when she took a pass from senior co-captain Morgan Maciewicz (Marblehead, MA) and beat Vitale on the near post to make it a 2-1 game.

Amherst nearly padded its lead with 11 minutes to play in the opening frame when a deflection was headed straight for the corner of the cage, but McEnroe’s diving effort knocked the ball out of bounds.

The Jeffs would find a third goal before halftime, however, when they were awarded a penalty corner as time expired. Amherst made the last play of the half count when a Douds pass made its way to sophomore Sarah McCarrick (New Canaan, CT), who played the ball from the left side to the far post. Cantore made an outstanding play by diving to get her stick on the ball, with her deflection beating McEnroe to give Amherst a 3-1 lead at the break.

Midway through the second half Bates put together a string of good passes on a penalty corner but could not cut into Amherst’s lead, as a shot from Maciewicz was kicked away by Vitale. Four minutes later on the Bobcats’ next penalty corner, sophomore Lindsay Beaton (West Newbury, MA) just missed sneaking a shot inside the near post when her attempt hit the outside of the cage.

The hosts were given a prime opportunity to get an insurance goal when McCarrick lined up for a penalty stroke with 10:06 remaining in regulation, but McEnroe came up with a big save to keep her team within striking distance.

McEnroe’s big save looked even more significant when first-year Laura Baran (Pittsburgh, PA) scored Bates’ second goal with only 2:47 to play in regulation. The Bobcats worked the ball around the circle on a penalty corner until Baran received a pass on the right side and delivered a hard shot inside the near post. Junior Ann Wilson (Chagrin Falls, OH) was credited with an assist on the play.

Bates continued to push until the final whistle, but Cantore’s goal proved to be the game winner. The Jeffs held a 15-8 advantage in shots, with each team taking five penalty corners. Amherst—which is off to a 3-1 start for the second consecutive year—now holds a 7-3 lead over Bates in the all-time series.

The Lord Jeffs return to action Wednesday, Sept. 23 when they host Springfield College at 7 p.m. Bates will host Maine-Farmington Thursday, Sept. 24 at 5 p.m.

Men's Tennis (Doubles)

Bates College senior Amrit Rupasinghe teamed up with a new doubles partner this weekend at the Middlebury Invitational, and the result was much the same.

Rupasinghe (Colombo, Sri Lanka), crowned the NCAA men's double champion just four months ago with now-graduated partner Ben Stein '09, teamed up with first-year Matt Bettles (Taunton, England) and defeated Anson McCook and Spencer Feldman of Trinity College 9-7 on Sunday to win the A Doubles Flight at Middlebury.

Rupasinghe and Bettles won three previous matches over the weekend to get to the championship round. They started off with an 8-5 win over Josh Rifkin and Taylor Borda of Ithaca, followed by an 8-4 defeat of Derrick Angle and Andy Peters of Middlebury and an 8-4 defeat of Middlebury's Eliot JIa nad Eric Vehovec in the semifinal round.

Their win highlighted a number of successes for Bates at the tourney. Both players competed in the A Singles Flight, with Rupasinghe notching a win over Dan Freeman of Colby 6-1, 6-3 before falling to Feldman 6-4, 6-3. Bettles was defeated by McCook in a tiebreaker, 5-7, 6-2 (10-6).

The doubles team of seniors Max Berger (Concord, N.H.) and Michael Reiss (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) defeated Bowdoin's Adam Davis and Andrew Won before losing to McCook and Feldman in the A Doubles Flight. In the B Doubles flight, senior Ryan Mannelly (New Canaan, Conn.) and sophomore Jeff Beaton (Haverhill, Mass.) won a first-round match 8-4 over Joe Albano and Bobby Post of Colby before falling to Spencer Lunghino and David Farral of Middlebury.

Berger made a run into the semifinals of the B Singles Flight, defeating Skidmore's Spencer Chang and Middlebury's Jeronimo Riefkohl before losing to Middlebury's Angle, the eventual flight champion. Mannelly and Beaton also both won first-round matches in the C Singles Flight, and senior Zach Fenno (Armonk, N.Y.) scored a first-round victory in the D Singles Flight.

The team is next in action at the ITA New England Championships, this weekend at Williams College.

Men's Soccer

Edwin Acosta's improbable shot curled into the net with 4:55 left in overtime to give Husson University a 4-3 non-conference victory over the host Bates College men's soccer team on Sunday.

From near the left baseline and at a tight angle, Acosta, a sophomore from Honduras, kicked a left-footed volley from 20 yards away that cleared the reach of Bates goalie Greg Watts (West Chester, Pa.) and tumbled inside the far right post. It was the first meeting between the two Maine teams since 1998.

The goal capped a shocking win for the Eagles (3-4), who evened the game three different times during regulation to force overtime.

Rob Cowart (Rome, Ga.) tied the game at 1-1 for Husson in the 30th minute with another exceptional shot, pivoting and hitting the ball over Watts, who was caught several yards out of the goal, and into the net from 40 yards away. In the 79th minute, John DeStefano (Auburn, N.H.) blasted a free kick over a Bates wall and under the cross bar from 25 yards out to tie the game at 2-2. And with 2:16 left in regulation, the Eagles' Gavin Madden (Manchester, N.H.) connected on another long-range shot from about 35 yards away to tie the game at 3-3.

Each goal wiped out go-ahead scores by the Bobcats. First-year John Murphy (Yarmouth, Maine) scored the Bobcats' first goal of the season in the 15th minute, less than a minute after the Bobcats dodged a bullet when Husson missed wide on a penalty kick. Sophomore Chris Okano (Los Angeles, Calif.) set Murphy up wiht an exceptional setup, looping a backward volley from near the right baseline into the box, where Murphy one-timed it past Husson keeper Miguel Dominguez (Rome, Ga.).

Murphy struck again in the 53rd minute, faking out a Husson back with a move to the left from near the top of the penalty area, then kicking a low shot through traffic and inside the far corner.

In the 80th minute, a minute after Husson had tied the game at 2-2, sophomore back Basil Ferenczi (St. Cloud, France), in the aftermath of a free kick by Murphy, followed the rebounded save of his own shot with a putback for his first college goal.

Dominguez made six saves for the Eagles, while Watts made three saves for Bates. Bates outshot Husson 19-12, including a 13-7 edge in the second half.

Bates (0-3) will play at Plymouth State on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.

STATS: Husson 4, Bates 3 (OT)


Soccer Game Summary (Final)
The Automated ScoreBook
Husson University vs Bates College (Sep 20, 2009 at Lewiston, Maine)

Husson University (3-4) vs. Bates College (0-3)
Date: Sep 20, 2009 Attendance: 105
Weather: 70 degrees, clear

Goals by period 1 2 OT Tot
----------------------------------
Husson University... 1 2 1 - 4
Bates College....... 1 2 0 - 3

SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 14:54 BAT John Murphy (1) (Chris Okano) - exceptional setup backward volley sets up volley from mid box
2. 29:30 HUS Rob Cowart (unassisted) - turns from 40 yards out, over GK head
3. 52:27 BAT John Murphy (2) (unassisted) - fakes, dribbles left, left foot thru crowd, inside far corner, low
4. 78:12 HUS John DeStefano (Mark Trombley) - ind. kick from 25 yds out on left side
5. 79:28 BAT Basil Ferenczi (1) (unassisted) - reb. save of own shot after ind. kick
6. 87:44 HUS Gavin Madden (unassisted) - 35 yards out, center, over GK's head
7. 95:05 HUS Edwin Acosta (unassisted) - hooks turnaround volley at tough angle in far corner

Shots: Husson University 12, Bates College 19
Saves: Husson University 6 (Miguel Dominguez 6), Bates College 3 (Greg
Watts 3)

Women's Volleyball

The Bates College volleyball team hung tough with conference rival Amherst on Saturday, losing 3-1 (22-25, 31-29, 25-19, 25-13). Bates won the first set and battled to 30-29 in the second set before Lord Jeffs claimed it.

Amherst raised its record to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in NESCAC play, while Bates dropped to 4-2 overall and 0-2 in the NESCAC.

Katherine Jordan (Los Altos Hills, Calif.) 48 assists for Amherst. Emily Waterhouse (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) added 12 kills and four blocks for the Lord Jeffs, while Katherine Kanoff (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) had a team-high 14 kills with two service aces. Laura Hyman (Glencoe, Ill.) added 11 kills, while Rachel Yorke (Los Angeles, Calif.) paced the back row with 11 digs.

Sophomore Grace Haessler (Portland, Ore.) paced the Bates offense with 55 assists, while senior Liz Leberman (Concord, N.H.) had a team-high 17 kills to go with seven digs for the Bobcats. Senior Avery Masters (Mill Valley, Calif.) had 13 kills while sophomore Olivia Schow (Costa Mesa, Calif.) contributed 11 kills, three aces and four blocks. Senior Tess Dokus (Fairport, N.Y.) and first-year Eliza Pyne (Atherton, Calif.) added 10 and nine kills, respectively, with Dokus coming up with two blocks. First-year Nicole Russell (Boca Raton, Fla.) led the back row defense with 19 digs.