Beaton, Lough lead field hockey past Wesleyan, ending NESCAC drought

Shannon Beaton's two goals lifted Bates to a 3-1 win at Wesleyan, the Bobcats' first NESCAC win since 2013. (File photo by Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

MIDDLETOWN, Connecticut -- Senior Shannon Beaton scored the game-tying and go-ahead goals for the Bates College field hockey team, propelling a 3-1 NESCAC victory at Wesleyan University on Saturday, the Bobcats' first conference win of the year.

Bates (3-2, 1-2 NESCAC) also got an insurance goal from first-year Taylor Lough, Lough's fourth goal this week.

After Lauren Yue put the Cardinals (2-5, 0-2 NESCAC) on top in the 11th minute, Beaton (West Newbury, Mass.) answered in the 15th minute with her second goal this season. The captain notched another unassisted tally in the 47th minute of the game for a 2-1 Bates lead.

Lough (Little Compton, R.I.) scored in the 57th minute on an assist by sophomore Caroline O'Reilly (Longmeadow, Mass.), giving Bates three goals on eight shot attempts. The first-year forward scored three times in Bates' 4-0 win over Thomas on Wednesday.

The win snapped a 14-game winless streak in conference games for the Bobcats, dating back to a 2-1 defeat of Connecticut College on Oct. 5, 2013.

Bates' weekend on the road takes the Bobcats to Williams on Sunday for a noon start.

Senior Cristina Vega (Needham, Mass.) had one save in net for Bates, which outshot Wesleyan 8-7 and accumulated eight penalty corners to the Cardinals' six. Sara Grundy had four saves for Wesleyan.