FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BATES WOMEN'S SOCCER EARNS EIGHT SEED IN ECAC NEW ENGLAND TOURNAMENT

LEWISTON, Maine Ð After finishing the regular season with an 8-5-1 record, the Bates College women's soccer team has earned their fourth straight postseason berth, garnering the No. 8 seed in the Eastern College Athletic Association (ECAC) New England Division III tournament. The Bobcats will travel to Norton, Mass., to take on top-seeded Wheaton College at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 3.

The Bobcats are led by senior co-captain Kate O'Malley of Deephaven, Minn. The forward is second in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) in scoring with 10 goals and five assists for 25 points. O'Malley is the all-time leading scorer in Bates women's soccer history with 50 goals and 22 points for 122 points. Senior midfielder Jolene Thurston of Post Mills, Vt., is second on the team in scoring with six goals and an assist for 13 points despite missing the first five games of the season. Thurston, a co-captain, earned NESCAC Player of the Week honors last week for her five-goal performance. The Bobcats are 6-1 in non-conference games this season and are unbeaten in their last three contests, including Saturday's 2-2 tie at Colby.

Wheaton is 20-2 and ranked seventh in the nation in the final NCAA Division III poll released by the National Soccer Coaches of America. The Lyons fell short in their bid for a berth in the NCAA tournament, dropping a 1-0 decision to conference foe Wellesley in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) finals that would have given them the automatic berth from that conference. First-year forward Alison Bimba leads the team in scoring with 22 goals and 12 assists for 55 points. Sophomore goalkeeper Emily Boeing boasts a 0.33 goals-against average and has 15 shutouts this season.

Bates is making its ninth appearance in the ECAC tournament with three championships in 1986, 1991 and last season. Last year, the Bobcats entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed and had their first three-game winning streak of the season to capture the title. The Bobcats posted a 2-1 win over Wheaton in the semifinals. With three goals and an assist in the tournament, O'Malley was named Most Valuable Player.

"Our team responded well to playing in the postseason last year," said head coach Jim Murphy. "Obviously, we have drawn a tough opponent in the first round, but everyone has an equal chance in postseason."

In other first-round matchups, No. 2 Amherst faces NESCAC rival Colby, the seventh seed; No. 3 Middlebury plays host to No. 6 Keene State; and No. 4 Tufts takes on in-state rival Clark. The semifinals and finals will be played on the campus of the highest remaining seed on Saturday, Nov. 6, and Sunday, Nov. 7.