Coming off the recent loss to Wesleyan (1-5) and dropping to a No. 12 national ranking, Bates set out to return to national top 10 form. After returning to the drawing board, Bates came back with a vengeance.
And who better than their arch-rival Bowdoin?
Both coaches and players had a personal stake in this game. The Bobcat’s assistant coach, Kelly McManus, a 2012 Bates alum, recently returned to Bates after coaching Bowdoin’s Field Hockey team since June 2016.
The last time these two rivals saw each other was in the quarterfinals of the 2023 NESCAC Championship. Bates, in a stunning overtime performance scored the winning goal of the game, and ended the Polar Bears’ season, while Bates went on to make history for their program, playing all the way into the second round of the Division III Field Hockey NCAA tournament.
Both teams were set for revenge, with Bates aiming for a comeback off of a loss at Wesleyan while Bowdoin to avenge their loss at last year’s NESCAC Championship. In the first play Bates entered Polar Bear territory, establishing the theme of the game, aggressive offensive play.
Within only six minutes of the game, after one penalty corner, number 13 Anna Cote ‘25 scored the first goal of the game, and gave Bates a lead right away.
Through the rest of the first quarter Bates defended their goal very well and saw some strong interceptions to bring them back to offensive play.
After a strong start, Bates made another smooth play to see the second point of the day, a goal scored by number 21 Brooke Moloney-Kolenberg ‘26, assisted by Cote. Bates played a confident second quarter, but the quarter was not without its own drama. The clock was stopped as the Bowdoin goalie dove in an awkward position, but after composing herself she stood right back up and kept playing. By the end of the first half Bates was out to a strong two point lead.
Excitement soon followed in the opening moments of the third quarter when Bowdoin scored, and began making their comeback in an attempt at overtaking the leading Bobcats. Halfway through the quarter, Bates had not one, not two, but three penalty corner shots in a row, giving them three strong chances for another goal. But Bowdoin shut them out of these three penalty corners. Only two minutes later, number one Sophie O’Sullivan ‘27 scored off of yet another penalty corner, finally pushing Bates to a 3-1 lead over the Bowdoin Polar Bears.
Entering the fourth quarter Bates had the two point advantage over Bowdoin. Early in the final quarter a controversial call was made, allowing a penalty stroke to a Bowdoin player who went one-on-one with the Bates Goalie. After some conversation between Bobcat captain number 12 Amanda Zerbib ‘25 and the official, Bowdoin took the penalty stroke and closed the Bobcat lead to 3-2.
A green card for Bowdoin found Bates with a player up advantage in the middle of the fourth quarter, while both teams were searching for another goal. With only seven seconds left, number 14 Anna Lindeis ‘25 received a yellow card and was pulled out of the game, true drama to end a successful game for the Bobcats, maintaining the lead from the beginning to a final score of 3-2.
This game marked a momentum shift for the Bobcats, as they won both their games the following weekend, taking down number nine Amherst and Vermont State Castleton, to contribute to the strangest start to a Bates Field Hockey season.
As of Sept. 29, this is the best overall seasonal start for the field hockey team since 1983 and the best start to their NESCAC statistics since 2002 (3-1 in NESCAC play). The Bobcats will next be tested by their upcoming games against number three Williams (Saturday, Oct. 5) and number 23 Hamilton (Sunday, Oct. 6).
