AMHERST, Mass. — Mohamed Diawara’s touchdown reception with 13 seconds remaining lifted the Bates College football team to its first victory of the season, 27-23 over Amherst on Saturday.
Diawara out-witted double coverage by a pair of Mammoths defensive backs and cut towards the middle of the field and as he crossed the goal line reeled in a 28-yard pass from quarterback Colton Bosselait.
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The victory is Bates’ first under first-year head coach Matt Coyne. The Bobcats are now 1-3, while the Mammoths are the NESCAC’s lone winless team at 0-4.
The majority of the scoring happened in a back-and-forth fourth quarter. Amherst led 9-6 at halftime, then Bates took its first lead of the game on a 9-yard pass from Bosselait to Diawara, who finished with five catches for 64 yards and two scores.
The Mammoths regained the lead on a 4-yard run by quarterback Mike Piazza early in the fourth quarter.
An 8-yard scoring strike by Bosselait to Christian Olivieri put Bates back in front, 20-16, with 7:32 remaining in the game. Amherst again responded, going up 23-20 on a 2-yard run by Louie Eckelkamp with only 1:09 to play.
Bosselait led the Bobcats on a nine-play drive that covered 72 yards in 51 seconds. The sophomore QB completed four passes, three to Olivieri, before the game-winning strike to Diawara.
Olivieri finished with nine catches for 91 yards, both team highs. Bosselait completed 23 of 40 passes for 239 yards, three TDs and one interception. Receiver Jackson Hayes also threw a touchdown pass, a 9-yarder to Sean Bryant late in the first half that cut Amherst’s lead to 9-6.
George Hawkins led Bates’ defense with 10 tackles, including two for losses.
The Bobcats host Bowdoin next Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
MEN’S SOCCER
BATES 2, HAMILTON 2: Rawson Welch scored off an assist by Ceaser Hoover with 39 seconds left in the second half as the Bobcats (5-4-1, 1-4-1) rallied to earn a tie with the Continentals (8-1-1, 4-1-1) in Clinton, New York.
Bates took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Max Kerskie, but Hamilton answered with goals by Charles Hawthorn and Luke Peplowski.
SUNY POLY 1, UMF 0: Abus Mohamed-Ali scored the only goal of the game in the 30th minute as the Wildcats (6-3-3, 3-0-2 North Atlantic Conference) shut out the Beavers (4-4-1, 4-2-0) in Marcy, New York.
University of Maine at Farmington mustered just one shot on goal at SUNY POLY, with starting goalie James D’Alessio making one save in his 45 minutes of work in the first half. Jonah Sautter made four saves for the Beavers.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
UMF 0, SUNY POLY 0: Paige Gonya made five saves as the Beavers (5-5-2, 3-1-2 North Atlantic Conference) played to a scoreless draw with the Wildcats (3-2-3, 2-1-2) in Marcy, New York.
Abby Lash placed two shots on goal for University of Maine at Farmington, but SUNY Poly goalie Michalyn Fagan stopping both of them for her two saves in the game.
BATES 2, HAMILTON 2: Courtney Gray and Maeve Parmelee both scored as the Bobcats (3-5-2, 0-4-2) played to a tie with the Continentals (4-2-4, 1-2-4) in Clinton, New York.
Erin Rayhill scored in the first to give Hamilton the lead, and Hyla Mosher scored late in the second to tie it.
COLLEGE FIELD HOCKEY
NEC 6, UMF 0: Drea Chin netted a hat trick for the Pilgrims (7-4, 1-1 New England Collegiate Conference) in a win over the Beavers (1-7, 0-2) in Henniker, New Hampshire.
Chin opened the scoring for New England College, and Annalisa Crooks, Kacie Weston and Mikayla Vincent also scored in the first half. Chin added another goal late in the third quarter and completed the hat trick in the fourth. Martina Hill notched a pair of assists for the Pilgrims.
Alicia Bridges made 14 saves for University of Maine at Farmington, which wasn’t able to put a shot on goal.
HAMILTON 3, BATES 0: Camille Donaghey scored twice as the Continentals (7-3, 3-3 NESCAC) beat the Bobcats (6-5, 2-4) in Clinton, New York. Tracey Stafford also scored.
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