LEWISTON, Me. – An Elsa Copeland goal proved enough in the end as No. 8 Bates defeated No. 13 Wesleyan field hockey, 1-0, on Saturday morning from Campus Avenue Field. The Cardinals drop to 4-2 (0-2 NESCAC) while the Bobcats continue their unbeaten start to the season at 6-0 (2-0 NESCAC).
 
The Copeland goal came just 2:40 into the game as Lucy Norris assisted on the play. Wesleyan outshot Bates 3-1 in the opening quarter but all three of the Cardinals' shots didn't land on-goal while the Bobcats made the most of their one opportunity.
 
Wesleyan withstood a second quarter flurry to keep the margin at 1-0 as Bates generated three penalty corner opportunities in a 27 second span and fired in four shots over that period. Audrey Pace '26 was forced into action one time and she made the save on an Elena Agosti attempt.
 
Trailing 1-0 at half, the Cardinals had two shots on-goal in the third quarter, one from Leila Feldman '28 and the other from Kenzie Mauro '27, that were each turned aside by Ava Donohue.
 
Then in the fourth quarter, Pace made two saves to keep her team in the game and the Cardinals had several late opportunities to try and equalize. Two penalty corners in the final six minutes as well as four shot attempts didn't connect. Emily Smith '29 had one last gasp attempt with just three seconds left that Donohue again handled, giving the Bobcats the 1-0 win.
 
Shots favored Wesleyan 13-10 while penalty corners heavily favored Bates at 12-5. Each goalkeeper made four saves in the contest.
 
Wesleyan has a full week to prepare for their next game, which is slated for Saturday, September 27 in another tough NESCAC road contest at Tufts.