By Gary Dzen
Senior Staff Writer

The men’s lacrosse team lost games to NESCAC rivals Amherst and Williams this week, dropping their record to 2-4 overall, 1-3 in NESCAC. The team has lost three in a row, two of those losses coming against ranked teams by one goal.

On Wednesday, Bates lost a heartbreaker to 19th-ranked Amherst 7-6, their second loss in a row by one goal. The Bobcats lost to 18th-ranked Springfield College 11-10 last week. The loss dropped Bates to 2-3 on the season, and 1-2 in NESCAC. Amherst jumped to 4-1, 2-0 in conference with the win.

The Bobcats held a 6-5 lead heading into the fourth quarter but could not maintain it, as Derek Cherney and Andrew Syfu scored for Amherst in the fourth quarter to give them the victory. Syfu scored the game winner with 10:01 to play on an assist from Cherney. Cherney had five goals and an assist in the game. Kevin Boova also added a goal and one assist for Amherst.

Senior Brad Frost scored two goals for Bates, while sophomore Paul Kazarian made twelve saves for the Bobcats in the loss. Wes Couture, Dan Ross, and Matt Erisman all had goals for Bates.

In their second game of the week, the Bobcats suffered a 9-6 loss to Williams in Williamstown, Mass. Bates had a 3-2 lead at the half but was outscored 3-0 in the third and 4-2 in the fourth quarter. Matt Barhight paced Williams with three goals and two assists, while Eric Gottenburg had two goals for Williams.

“Basically, these last couple of games we have gotten away from what makes us successful,” said junior Peter Friedman. “We beat teams because we work harder than them, beat them to groundballs, and beat them physically. Once we remember that, we will get back on track and continue our winning ways.”

Friedman was the high man once again for Bates, netting three goals and an assist in the loss. Chris Eckhoff and Erisman added goals for the Bobcats, while Kazarian made nine saves.

“Williams is a team that we should have beaten,” said Erisman. “They scored some transition goals and we didn’t finish our chances. We just lacked a spark to get on a roll in that game, and couldn’t seem to put it together.”

The Bobcat’s next game will be against Colby in Waterville on Wednesday, where they hope to rebound from a string of tough losses and pull out a victory. The team feels that they are underachieving so far, and knows they can do much better.

“We are close to being very good,” said Bates coach Peter Lasagna.

His players agree, and many have called this team the best they have played on in their Bates careers.

“We are hoping that having these few losses early will give us a sense of urgency for the remainder of the season,” said Erisman. “We have a few must-win games coming up against Colby and Connecticut College this week, and we need to focus on what’s ahead.”




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