Women’s lacrosse: Bates handles University of Southern Maine

USM’s Aliza Jordan makes a pass to a teammate while being defended by Bates’ Liv Standford during Tuesday’s game in Lewiston.

LEWISTON — The Bates womens’ lacrosse team used precise passing and a balanced scoring attack to down the University of Southern Maine 16-6 in a non-conference battle at a misty and chilly Garcelon Field on Tuesday

Bates fired 39 shots, 23 of them on goal, to keep constant pressure on the USM defense, never really allowing them in the game.

“We have a very balanced attack, some of our middies generate more shots than others,” Bates coach Brett Allen said. “Overall a lot of our attackers are getting a couple shots a game and our middies are getting a couple of shots a game so that’s good, we want to have balance on offense.”

Bates wasted no time putting the ball into the net, scoring four goals in the first six minutes of the game. Senior Allison Dewey took a sharp pass from Teal Otley and fired it by Huskies goalie Hala Van Nostrand for the game’s first score less than two minutes into the game. Camille Belletete scored next with the an unassisted goal quickly followed by a Kaileigh Maguire score giving the Bobcats (6-3) an early 3-0 lead just over four minutes into the game. Following a USM foul that sent Joanie Oates to the ground, the senior scored off a free position shot for the fourth goal.

Bates continued its ball control throughout the first half, not surrendering their first shot until the 15:00 mark. After goals by Katie Allard and Dewey, USM netted its first goal of the game when Lewiston native Lauren Lessard set up teammate Allison Irish at the 1:20 mark.

Bates closed out the half with three unanswered goals, including Belletete’s team leading 20th and 21st goals of the season. Dewey also reached the back of the net for the third time in the half, from a Belletete assist, with her 13th goal of the season. Bates outshot the Huskies in the first half, 21-3, holding a 9-1 advantage.

“Midweek games are always challenging because it’s a different routine than a weekend game. You might be coming out of class and thinking about your academic priorities as student athletes. I think we did some things well and some not so well today,” Allen said.

Once again, Bates wasted no time getting on the board when Melanie Mait took the ball downfield and scored just :32 into the half. Following a Bates penalty, Kenzie Kidder put one past Bobcat goalie Sarah Delany for the score making it 11-2.

Bates’ 12th goal of the game came on the individual efforts of freshman Caroline Kerrigan after she stole an outlet pass from Van Norstrand and crossed over to the left side of the net, firing it into the lower right side for the score. Both teams then traded goals, Ruth Nadeau for USM, and Avery MacMullen for Bates, to reach the midway point in the second half.

Trailing 13-3, USM was able to muster some offense. Lessard scored her 16th goal of the season after taking a pass from Aliza Jordan and shooting it into the left side of the net for the score.

“When I was warming up today, I realized it was four years ago when I scored my first goal here. It’s bittersweet coming back here in my last season and to score again, it’s amazing,” Lessard said.

Jordan scored the next two USM (4-2) goals, cutting the Bates lead to 13-6 with 5:58 remaining. That would be as close as they would get. Allard scored her third and fourth goals of the game just :17 apart to seal the victory. Gianna DiPinto rounded out the scoring for Bates.

Eliza Statlie made one first half save in net for Bates while Sarah Delany made four in the second half. Van Nostrand had seven saves for USM.

USM’s Lauren Lessard defends against Bates’ Liv Sandford during Tuesday’s lacrosse game in Lewiston.USM’s Lauren Lessard defends against Bates’ Liv Sandford during Tuesday’s lacrosse game in Lewiston.USM’s Aliza Jordan, center, battles for possession of the ball with Bates’ Erin Shea, left and Caroline Kerrigan, right, during Tuesday’s game in Lewiston.Bates College attacker Katie Allard fires a shot past USM goalie Hala Van Nostrand for a goal in the first period of Tuesday’s game in Lewiston.