The field hockey team won its third straight game with a 3-1 victory over Bates on Smith Field Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals evened their record at 5-5 overall and now stand at 2-5 in the NESCAC standings; Wesleyan can clinch a spot in the NESCAC tournament with a win in one of its last two games.

Wesleyan wasted no time jumping on the board as leading scorer Morgan McCauley ’12 found the back of the net off a feed from Ashley McLaren ’13 just 3:18 into the contest. Despite a 7-3 Wesleyan advantage in shots in the first half, the Cardinals did not score again, and Wesleyan took a slim 1-0 advantage into halftime. The score remained 1-0 for the first 20 minutes of the second half until McCauley scored in the 56th minute to extend Wesleyan’s lead to 2-0. Jamie Thabault ’11 recorded her team-leading third assist on the tally.

Wesleyan moved out to a 3-0 lead with 4:57 remaining in the game as a pass from Alex Bean ’11 found Liz Chabot ’12 for Chabot’s third goal of the season. With the score still 3-0 as the game entered its final minute, it appeared that Wesleyan would record its second shutout in the last three games, but Bates broke through with 32 seconds remaining to spoil Wesleyan’s shutout bid.

Wesleyan has a pair of games this week, beginning with a game at Salve Regina University Tuesday night and hosting Mount Holyoke College on Thursday under the lights. The Cardinals then travel to Little Three rival Amherst on Saturday for a 2:00 game.