The women’s lacrosse team traveled to Lewiston take on NESCAC rival Bates in a league matchup on Saturday. Despite falling behind by as many as four goals to the 14th-ranked Bobcats, the Cardinals were competitive in the contest until the end, but were not able to get the job done and dropped the match 14-13. The team is now 2-5 on the season and 0-3 in NESCAC play after falling to Bowdoin and Middlebury earlier in the season.

Wesleyan was the first to get on the board as Kayla Ellman ’13 scored 2:39 into the game, but Bates responded quickly and decisively, pouring in five goals in a row to take a 5-1 lead with 18 minutes left in the first half. The Cards responded with a run of their own, getting a pair of goals from Eliza Ruggiero ’13 and another tally from Erin McCarthy ’10 to cut it to 5-4 with 12:37 left in the half, but Bates responded with a pair of goals to extend its lead to 7-4. Goals by Lydia Kring ’13 and Eileen Gaffney ’12 cut it to 7-6 with 6:15 to go, but Bates found the back of the net twice more, including a goal with 42 seconds left, for a 9-6 halftime lead.

Bates scored first in the second half for a 10-6 lead, but goals by Jess Chukwu ’11 and McCarthy made it a 10-8 game four minutes into the period. The team then traded goals twice for a 12-10 Bates lead with 7:13 to play. The Bobcats scored twice more in a span of 1:31 for a 14-10 lead with just under five minutes to play, but the Cardinals continued to battle. A pair of goals by Catherine Taibi ’13 made it 14-12 with 3:51 left, and Kring made it a one-goal game at the 1:40 mark.

The Cardinals had one last possession to try to send the game into overtime but were unable to find the back of the net, and the Bobcats walked off the field with the victory.

Taibi and Kring both notched hat tricks in the contest, while Allie Lynch ’11 had three assists. The win was Bates’ second straight over the Cardinals by one goal, as the Bobcats took a 14-13 decision in Middletown last spring. Wesleyan had won its previous seven games against the Bobcats after losing the first two in the all-time series.

The Cardinals will travel to Medford, Mass., to take on another nationally ranked NESCAC foe, Tufts, on Saturday. Game time is slated for 12 p.m.