The Middlebury men's lacrosse team battled back from an eight-goal deficit to cut the lead to 12-11, but could not overcome fourth-ranked Bates (10-0, 7-0), falling 15-12 on the road Saturday. The Panthers (4-7, 2-5) return to action on Wednesday when they host Springfield at 5:00 p.m.

Danny Jacobs scored four times and assisted on one goal for the Panthers, while Parker Lawlor went for three goals and an assist. A.J. Kucinski passed out five assists and added a goal, while both Cedric Rhodes and Matthew O'Neal had a goal and an assist apiece. Kenan Yates caused a game-high five turnovers to go with six ground balls for Middlebury, while Charles Midgley made eight saves in goal.

Bates' Kyle Weber scored five goals with one assist and Charlie Fay added three, while Matt Chlastawa added two goals and an assist. Andrew Melvin tallied a season-high five assists in the win. Mitchell Drake made 14 saves in goal, and sophomore midfielder Jack O'Brien had a team-high 10 ground balls while causing three turnovers in faceoff battles.

Bates scored first after Middlebury turnover for the game's opening goal, with Andrew Melvin feeding Fay at the 11:20 mark. Weber made it 2-0 with 5:22 to go, jogging around the circle and firing from 20 yards out.

Middlebury got on the board with a fast-break goal of its own, as Kucinski finished off a quick series of passes by finding Rhodes open on the left post with 2:54 left in the first.

Bates responded with three-straight goals, beginning when Clarke Jones found Chlastawa open with a long pass from behind the net, and the freshman able to step into a hard shot from the perimeter. With 26 seconds left in the period, Bates made it 4-1 three seconds after a Middlebury turnover, with Melvin assisting Weber. At the 13:27 mark of the second period, Wes Shrewsbury faked out his defender and fired in his fourth goal of the year for a 5-1 lead.

The Panthers stopped the run with 12:01 to go when Kucinski hit a cutting Jacobs to make it 5-2. Bates answered with four unanswered goals scored within the ensuing 2:04 to build a 9-2 lead with 9:57 to go. Melvin fed Matt Kelleher on a fast break off of a Drake save at the 11:24 mark, and 19 seconds later, Fay scored on an underhanded shot threaded through the Middlebury defense from 10 yards in front. Weber scored on another rip from the outside at the 10:36 mark, with 9:57 left the Bobcats scored on another fast break after Lawlor's shot hit the post and was corralled by Scott Baber, with Weber assisting Fay.

The sides settled with no scores for over five minutes, and Middlebury closed the gap by two goals with markers at the 4:41 and 3:27 marks of the half. Jacobs scored from in close but at a sharp angle, assisted by Rhodes, and Jacobs then assisted Lawlor on a quick strike after the Panthers blocked a Bates shot. Bates returned the lead to seven goals before intermission with an 11-4 edge.

Weber tallied his fifth goal in the opening minute of the second half, taking a cross pass from Chlastawa, putting on a one-on-one move and firing 33 seconds in, giving Bates a seemingly comfortable 12-4 lead. 

Middlebury dominated the rest of the third quarter with seven-unanswered goals, closing the gap to 12-11 with 16:34 minutes left in regulation. Middlebury won seven of the final eight faceoffs in the period and took advantage of 10 Bates' turnovers committed in a 10-minute span. Lawlor tallied two goals and an assist in the run, Kucinski recorded three assists and Jacobs scored twice, capped by a Henry Riehl-assisted goal with 1:34 left that made it 12-11. Bates' final turnover in the period led to a Lawlor shot in the final seconds, but Drake made the save to preserve the lead going into the fourth quarter.

Bates earned a little breathing room with the first score of the fourth quarter, as Melvin found Chlastawa open with a pass across the face of the goal with 13:18 to go. With both teams playing physically and having trouble maintaining possession, Bates got the ball as Drake saved a shot by Riehl, and with 8:56 to go Clarke Jones took a pass from Melvin and got off a shot in traffic to bump the lead to 14-11. With 8:16 remaining, the Bobcats went up by four with Chlastawa on the receiving end of a nice pass from Jake Walsh and burying the ball into the upper-right corner.

Bates' defense held Middlebury scoreless over a 13-minute span before Kucinski, left open near the left post, scored after a Bates turnover with 4:02 remaining in the game on an assist from O'Neal. Both sides traded three turnovers apiece in the last four minutes, and Middlebury missed four final shots in the last minute of the game.

Middlebury outshot Bates 54-42 in the game, with a 26-23 difference in shots on goal.