Very little had gone wrong for the nationally ranked Bates College field hockey team this season — until the first half of Tuesday’s game against Bowdoin College in Brunswick.
Bowdoin scored three goals in the first 30 minutes to stun the Bobcats, who previously had allowed no more than two goals a game.
The Bobcats responded by tying the game in the second half and winning in overtime, 4-3.
“I think after the first half, we really just looked at the team and knew that we weren’t playing to our potential,” Bates coach Dani Kogut said. “We just said to them, ‘Let’s put Bates field hockey out on the field in the second half, and let’s see what happens; let’s see what that results in.’”
Bates (8-0, 4-0 New England Small College Athletic Conference) is ranked seventh in the most recent NFHCA Division III National Coaches Poll; Bowdoin is 13th and NESCAC rival Middlebury is No. 1. Wins such as Tuesday’s showed why Bates has received national attention.
“I think the big lesson is so much of the play in that second half had to be gritty, and they had to have a lot of guts to come up with that win,” Kogut said.
Kogut credited Sophia Cordoni and Sophie O’Sullivan, who made long runs to get in position to score in the 37th and 56th minutes, helping Bates pull within one. Brooke Moloney-Kolenberg scored off a penalty corner in the final minute of regulation and again in overtime to secure the win.
Moloney-Kolenberg leads the team with 12 points on four goals and four assists. Goaltender Ava Donohue has started all eight games and has two shutouts.
On Saturday, Bates topped No. 9 Amherst 2-1 to improve to 8-0 and match its best start in program history, set in 1973.
UNE football excelling on defense
The University of New England football team has started 3-0 for only the second time since 2017, and has allowed just 11 points over the past two weeks.
UNE beat Worcester Polytechnic Institute 41-3 on Sept. 13 and Castleton University 35-8 on Saturday.
With eight interceptions, the Nor’Easters are tied with Western New England for first in the Conference of New England. Three takeaways occurred in the win over Castleton; Oscar Clark leads the team with two.
Spencer Sherk ranks first in the conference with 41 tackles, while Teighan Jeremy is tied for the CNE lead with 2.5 sacks.
This week, UNE hosts Western New England in its CNE opener. The Golden Bears (2-1) have received votes in the latest American Football Coaches Association Division III Top 25 Poll.
Yarmouth native powers St. Thomas men’s soccer
Yarmouth’s Liam Ireland scored his first two goals of the season to lead the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) men’s soccer team to a 6-1 victory over St. Cloud State (Minnesota) on Sept. 20.
Ireland, a graduate transfer, scored in the 19th minute and added another on a free kick in the 80th. In his first season with the Tommies, the midfielder has taken 11 shots on goal in seven games.
St. Thomas (4-1-3) competes as a Division I program in the Summit League.
Previously, Ireland played at UMass Lowell in 2023 and 2024. Ireland also played at Rhode Island in 2021.
Earlier this spring, he played with CD Faialense, a Massachusetts amateur club, which faced the Hearts of Pine in the Open Cup in March.
Bates and Bowdoin win Maine State XC Championships
On Sept. 20, Bowdoin College hosted the Maine State Cross Country Championships.
Bates (28 points) took first in the men’s race, with the University of Maine (48) and Bowdoin (66) following in second and third, respectively. Seamus McDonough (25:46.75) won the 8-kilometer race, followed by Logan Ross (25:57.71) from the University of Maine and Nathaniel Aronson (26:13.23) of Bates.
The Bowdoin (35 points) women were also victorious, followed by the University of Maine (44) and Bates (51). Lila Garbett (21:42.09) of Maine took the 6K individual title, while Leah White (21:47.21) of Bates came in second, followed by Maine’s Ruby Krasnow (21:50.32).
NAC honors Husson soccer player
Husson’s Jacquie Pangburn earned her second straight North Atlantic Conference women’s soccer rookie of the week honors.
The 2025 John Bapst graduate scored in the Eagles’ 1-1 tie against Lesley on Sept. 20.
She also netted two goals in a 4-1 win over St. Joseph’s on Sept. 10.
