FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BATES WOMEN'S SOCCER EARNS ECAC TOURNAMENT BERTH

LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates College women's soccer team earned its third straight post-season berth today, garnering the third seed in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) New England Division III tournament. The Bobcats (7-7) will play host to sixth-seeded Middlebury College (6-6-2) on Nov. 4 at 1:30 p.m. at Lafayette Street Field.

The all-time series between the two teams is even, with each team winning eight times, plus two ties. This will be the second meeting of the season between these New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) rivals. Middlebury won at Bates, 5-0, on Sept. 19. It was the Bobcats' greatest margin of defeat this season and their worst loss since 1995.

Bates is led by two-time All-American forward Kate O'Malley of Deephaven, Minn., and two-time All-NESCAC performer Colleen McCrave of Walpole, Mass., the fourth- and fifth-top scorers in the conference. O'Malley (10 goals, 6 assists, 26 points) is second on the Bobcats' all-time goals scored list with 37 and on the all-time points list with 91. McCrave (7 9-23) is Bates' all-time assist leader (25).

"This ECAC berth is a good chance for us to prove that we are a better team than our record indicates," said Bates head coach Jim Murphy (Class of 1969).

The Panthers are led by senior forward Kirstin Gerety of Wellesley, Mass., who ranks eighth in the NESCAC in scoring (6-8-20). The Panthers are coached by Diane Boettcher, who established women's soccer as a varsity program in 1980. The winningest coach in the Bates program's history (63 wins), Boettcher led the Bobcats to an ECAC title in 1986.

In other ECAC first-round match-ups, No. 1 Babson College plays host to No. 8 WPI; No. 2 Wheaton College takes on No. 7 Anna Maria College; and No. 4 Gordon College hosts No. 5 Plymouth State College.