WELLESLEY, Mass. – No. 22 Bates College took an early lead that was never relinquished in a 5-1 win over Wellesley College field hockey on Wednesday night at Butler Stadium.
Just under 10 minutes into the first quarter, Bates junior Bella Bigelow (Alburgh, Vt.) earned a penalty stroke and tucked the shot into the right hand side of the cage.
Two minutes later, senior Haley Dwight (West Newbury, Mass.) corralled a pass from classmate Amy LaBelle (Barrington, R.I.) and recorded a first goal of the season.
The LaBelle to Dwight connection occurred again midway through the second quarter, putting the Bobcats ahead 3-0. The visitors got one more goal before halftime on a shot from senior Sophie O'Sullivan (Wellesley, Mass.).
Bates scored its fifth and final goal roughly five minutes into period number three. This time it was sophomore Sophia Cordoni (San Jose, Calif.) with the goal.
Wellesley got on the board with seven minutes left in the contest. A pass from junior Madeline Hamstra (Houston, Texas) gave senior Marguerite Greene (South Boston, Mass.) a clear look at the cage. Greene put the shot away for a first career goal.
Juniors Maddie Miller (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Hannah Simmonds (Austin, Texas) both made a pair of stops in 30 minutes of work each.
Next up, Wellesley plays a NEWMAC game at Salve Regina University on Saturday, October 3 at noon. Bates welcomes Trinity College for a NESCAC matchup at 11:00 AM that same day.
