Courtesy of Bates College Sports Information
LEWISTON, ME – Bates College's men's lacrosse team handed Amherst College its first loss of the season with a 9-4 NESCAC conference win Saturday at Campus Avenue Field. Bates gets its first conference win and raises its record to 2-5 (1-2 NESCAC), while the Lord Jeffs drop to 5-1 overall and 0-1 in conference.
Bates held Amherst to only a single goal in each period, as senior goalie Will Paddock collected 10 saves. The Bobcats also out-shot the Lord Jeffs in every period but the fourth, amassing a 39-24 advantage in shots taken. Amherst junior goalie Matt Pietroforte (Brooklyn, NY) was put to the test and came up with 17 saves, while being aided by his goalposts and crossbar numerous other times, particularly in the middle two quarters, when Bates out-shot Amherst by a 25-8 margin and Pietroforte made 13 of his saves.
Bates sophomore defender Michael Nadler sparked the Bobcats with two goals in the second half, both coming unassisted after scooping ground balls in the Bates end. Nadler pulled off the feat just 1:13 into the third quarter to give Bates a 4-2 lead. In the fourth quarter he forced an Amherst turnover while Bates was at a man-down disadvantage, got the ground ball and scored to make it 7-3 with 7:25 left in the game.
Junior Tyler Moore also scored twice for Bates, while seniors Brent Morin and Justin Simon both came up with a goal and an assist. Simon tied with Paddock for the team lead with five ground balls.
Senior T.J. Jackson (Haverford, PA) scored twice for the Lord Jeffs, while sophomore Tom McDonnell (Manhasset, NY) and junior Tim Thornton (Garden City, NY) also scored. McDonnell and Jackson sandwiched a score by Bates junior Sam Geller to tie the game for the final time at 2-2 with 12:26 left in the second quarter.
Simon scored what would become the game-winning goal with 6:23 left in the half, scoring off a rebounded save of a Frates shot for a 3-2 lead. Nadler made it 4-2 early in the third quarter, and Moore made it 5-2 with a man-up goal with 12:26 left in the third.
Thornton scored on an assist by Amherst sophomore Matt Kellman (Wilton, CT) with 9:47 left in the third, but first-year Cody Newman (Montclair, NJ) won the ensuing faceoff (he was 6-11 on the day), and Simon scooped the ground ball and quickly dished to Moore for the finish, giving Bates a three-goal lead again at 6-3. The teams went scoreless for the next 17 minutes, before Nadler notched his unassisted goal with 7:25 left in the game.
Jackson scored a man-up goal with 6:43 left in the game to close it to 7-4, but Morin assisted senior Mike Medeiros on a goal just 38 seconds later to virtually put the game out of Amherst's reach at 8-4 with 6:05 left to play. Morin added an insurance goal with 2:28 remaining after rebounding a Geller shot that hit the crossbar.
The Lord Jeffs return to action when they host Skidmore College in a non-league game on Tuesday, Mar. 25.
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