MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — Bates College rallied all the way back, but a goal with 38 seconds remaining ended its season with a 14-13 loss to Wesleyan in the NCAA Division III men’s lacrosse quarterfinals on Wednesday.
The loss ends the Bobcats outstanding season with a 16-2 record and the No. 3 national ranking.
Bates senior captain Charlie Fay scored seven goals Wednesday, and concludes his college career with 167, which is three shy of Mike D’Addario’s (Class of 2000) 170.
Fay’s 19 goals in this year’s NCAA Tournament are two short of the Division III record, and his 27 points and three short of the 30 tallied by Tufts’ John Uppgren in 2015. The latter two records were set over five games, while Fay, who hails from Falmouth, achieved his totals in three games.
So it comes as little surprise that Fay was in the fray of the Bobcats’ comeback Wednesday.
Bates trailed 6-0 at halftime and 9-2 with 7:36 left in the third quarter.
The Bobcats scored five goals in less than four minutes to cut the deficit to 9-7 with 3:47 left in the third. Two Andrew Melvin goals sandwiched three straight by Fay during that stretch.
The Cardinals when on a three-goal tear to make it 12-7 early in the fourth quarter, but the Bobcats scored six of the next seven to tie the game.
With two minutes left and Bates trailing 13-11, Wesleyan’s Zach Zavalick earned a three-minute illegal procedure penalty for having an illegal stick.
The Bobcats took advantage. Fay scored with 1:47 left and again with 1:29 left to tie the game.
However, Wesleyan’s Harry Stanton, the NESCAC’s leading scorer, buried the game-winner with 38 seconds remaining after two Bates defenders got tangled up and left Stanton wide open for a goal.
Bates had one last chance to preserve its season, but Kyle Weber’s shot was stopped by goalkeeper Ted Bergman.
Melvin and Weber scored two goals apiece, and Clarke Jones and Matt Chlastawa each had one.
Stanton led the Cardinals with five goals.
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