FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BATES MEN'S SOCCER EARNS ECAC TOURNAMENT BERTH

LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates College men's soccer team earned its third-ever playoff berth today, garnering the second seed in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) New England Division III tournament. The Bobcats (9-5) will play host to seventh-seeded Colby College (8-5-1) on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. at Leahey Field.

Bates and Colby have played 33 times since 1974, with Colby holding a 15-14-4 advantage. This is the second meeting of the season between these New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) and Colby-Bates-Bowdoin (CBB) rivals. The White Mules defeated Bates, 1-0, in Lewiston on Oct. 31. The loss was the Bobcats' only setback in their last four games, which included a 2-1 victory over CBB rival and NCAA tournament qualifier Bowdoin College.

"We are looking forward to the opportunity to play Colby again," said Bates head coach George Purgavie, who has led Bates to its two previous ECAC berths in 1992 and 1996. "CBB games are always intense, hard-fought contests."

Bates features junior forward Andy Apstein of Waban, Mass., who leads the team with eight goals and four assists for 20 points, and senior forward Eric Trickett of Windham, N.H., whose seven assists are one shy of the Bobcats' single-season mark of eight, held by 1994 graduate Derek Cook.

Colby features senior forward Mark Melander, who leads the NESCAC with 10 assists and is tied for third in the conference in scoring with 26 points. The White Mules are 3-1-1 in their last five games, including the win over Bates and a 2-1 loss to Bowdoin.

In other ECAC first-round match-ups, No. 1 Wheaton College plays host to No. 8 Worcester Polytechnic Institute; No. 3 Tufts University takes on No. 6 Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts; and No. 4 Bridgewater State College entertains No. 5 Brandeis University.