WOMEN'S LAX DROPS CBB OPENER, 16-7, TO EIGHTH-RANKED BOWDOIN

LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates College women's lacrosse team (2-5) played a tight first half against CBB rival Bowdoin College (10-0), but the Polar Bears, ranked eighth in the nation entering the game, outscored the Bobcats 11-4 in the second stanza to take the 16-7 victory.

After Bowdoin got on the board first, the Bobcats took a 2-1 lead just under 20 minutes into the game on the first of a three goals by first-year attacker Liz Coulson (Devon, Pa.). Bowdoin rookie Whitney Church (Westwood, Mass.) gave the Polar Bears the lead for good with the first of her three goals at the 9:12 mark of the first half. Junior Elizabeth MacNeil (Lincoln, Mass.) gave Bowdoin a two-goal cushion at 4-2, but senior defender Molly McMahon (Cumberland, Maine) trimmed the lead to one with 1:20 left on the clock. A defensive breakdown allowed Bowdoin to score again with 37 ticks on the clock to take a 5-3 lead into the lockerroom.

Bowdoin opened the second half on a 6-1 run, with Church and junior Heather Hawes (Westport, Mass.) contributing two goals apiece, to take an 11-4 lead. The Bobcats responded with the next three goals, including a goal and an assist by Coulson and tallies by senior Amanda Schall (Chevy Chase, Md.) and sophomore Erin Flynn (Newton, N.J.), but the 11-7 deficit was as close as Bates would get.

Coulson led all Bobcats with four points (3 goals, 1 assist), while Schall had two goals. Hawes led Bowdoin with a four-point day (3-1-4), while Church and junior Adrienne Gratry (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) also tallied hat tricks. Bates senior Cil Bloomfield (Exeter, N.H.) had 11 saves, while first year keeper Jen Strahle (Ridgewood, N.J.) had three. Bowdoin rookie Julia McCombs (Potomac, Md.) had seven saves.

		       1      2		    Final
Bates (2-5)            3      4       --      7
Bowdoin (10-0)         5     11       --      16

GOALS:
BAT - Liz Coulson 3, Amanda Schall 2, Erin Flynn, Molly McMahon.
BOW - Whitney Church 3, Heather Hawes 3, Adrienne Gratry 3, Brooke
Goodchild 2, Elizabeth MacNeil 2, Lael Byrnes, Kristen Doughty.

ASSISTS:
BAT - Coulson, Jess Roll
BOW - Doughty, Goodchild, Hawes, Kate LaBella

GOALKEEPERS
BAT - Cil Bloomfield - 11 SV, 9 GA, 40 Min. Jen Strahle - 3 SV, 8 GA, 20
Min.
BOW - Julie McCombs - 7 SV, 7 GA, 60 Min.