NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College men's lacrosse team dropped a 14-10 decision to Bates College on a rainy Saturday afternoon in NESCAC action at Silfen Field.

Neither team led by more than two until the Bobcats (8-4 overall, 3-4 NESCAC) scored five straight goals to snap a 9-9 deadlock in the fourth quarter. Denzel Evans and Xander Frey, who each supplied a goal during the final push, led a balanced Bates attack with two goals and an assist each.

Aidan McAvoy (Charlotte, N.C.) paced the Camels with four goals and an assist. Andrew Rainville (Watertown, Conn.) also netted a pair of scores while Graydon Diamond (New Canaan, Conn.) chipped in a goal and two assists.

Goals by McAvoy and Zach Bucher (Vernona, N.J.) gave the Camels a 2-0 advantage midway through the opening quarter, but Frey and Gray Doyle answered right back for the Bobcats. McAvoy then had a hand in Conn's next two goals, feeding Rainville for a score with 48 seconds remaining in the period before notching his own with 14 ticks left. 

Ben Miller scored on both sides of the quarter break to bring Bates back to even at 4-4. The Bobcats then took their first lead of the day on a tally by Evans with 9:13 remaining in the half.

Fresh off his six-goal game at Trinity, Liam Horkan (Malden, Mass.) found the back of the cage at the 6:55 mark tie the score once again. Minutes later, JJ Ford (Clinton, Conn.) capitalized on a man-up possession to put the Camels back in front, but a late score by Javi Werner made it a 6-6 game at intermission.

In the second half, goals by Rainville and McAvoy yielded an 8-6 margin for the Camels, but the Bobcats clawed back with a pair of scores in the final 3:47 of the third. Connor Hartman opened the fourth quarter with a marker that put Bates up 9-8, but McAvoy fired back just over a minute later to produce the game's sixth tie.

A marker by Evans put the Bobcats on top for good with 10:40 to play. The visitors later added four more goals over a near three-minute stretch, capped by a score from Riley McClure that made it 14-9 with 4:05 to go. Miles Schmidt won eight of the nine face-offs in the final quarter to aid the effort.

Patrick Hogan (Wyckoff, N.J.) played all 60 minutes in goal for the Camels and made 12 saves. Bucher was a menace on the defensive end, finishing with a game-high five caused turnovers to go with four ground balls. Dylan McGuirk (Norwell, Mass.) and Henry Dumler (Mercer Island, Wash.) also caused four and three turnovers, respectively.

Conn (5-5 overall, 2-5 NESCAC) will next play at Amherst College on Wednesday, April 9 at 6:00 p.m.