LEWISTON, Maine—Sophomore Shannon Beaton (West Newbury, Mass.) scored the go-ahead goal with 15:36 remaining in the second half and tacked on another tally late as Bates College defeated visiting Babson College, 4-1, in non-conference field hockey action on Sunday afternoon at Campus Avenue Field.

With its third straight victory, Bates is now 4-7 on the season, while Babson, which has won six of its last eight matches, falls to 8-6 overall.

Sophomore Elizabeth Holmes (Southborough, Mass.) scored her seventh goal of the season for the Beavers while senior Morgan Lockwood (Feeding Hills, Mass.) chipped in with an assist. Junior Caroline Falcone (New Canaan, Conn.) had a goal and an assist, both in the second half for the Bobcats, who also got a first-half score from Polly Merck (Beverly Farms, Mass.).

The game's first 49 minutes saw just one goal, a penalty stroke tally by Merck in the first half. With 11:26 left to play in the opening period, a long pass reached Beaton on a breakaway. Babson senior goalkeeper Kayla Florence (Milton, Mass.) sprinted out of the goal to intercept Beaton, stopping the threat but sending the sophomore forward flying. Bates was awarded the penalty stroke, which Merck flicked into the upper left corner of the goal for a 1-0 lead.

The Beavers evened the score in the 50th minute when Holmes scored off a centering pass from Lockwood, but the momentum was short-lived. Beaton scored the first of her two goals, beating Babson sophomore goalkeeper Kayla Costa (Watertown, Mass.) with a shot from the left flank as the Bobcats regained the lead at  54:24.

Falcone scored her team-leading eighth goal of the season, converting a feed from senior Sarah Warden (North Andover, Mass.), at 59:35 to give Bates a two-goal edge. Beaton then capped the scoring with her second tally in the closing seconds for the final margin.

Sophomore Christina Vega (Needham, Mass.) made two saves to earn the win for Bates. Florence did not register a save in the first half for Babson while Costa made three second-half stops.

The Bobcats held a 21-9 advantage in shots and a 9-8 edge in penalty corners on the afternoon.

Both teams will be back in action on Saturday as Babson will be at Mount Holyoke in  2 p.m. start while Bates hosts Middlebury at 12 noon.

Note: Portions of this release courtesy of Bates College.