MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — Alexander Rolph (So., San Luis Obispo, Calif.), Sam Bass (Sr., Greenwich, Conn.) and Jem Bullock (So., Bainbridge Island, Wash.) combined for 18 of their team’s goals as Bates College of the North Atlantic Division overcame Augustana College, 26-1, in the opening round of the 2017 Men’s Division III Collegiate Club Championship at Middlebury College.
The win places Bates into a semifinal showdown against three-time defending Division III National Champion Washington University in St. Louis at 5:50 p.m. later tonight, while Augustana will square-off with host Middlebury at 4:40 p.m. with a berth in the Fifth Place game at stake. Washington defeated Middlebury by a 27-4 final score in the opening game of the tournament.
Bates never trailed in the game as the Bobcats clawed their way out to a 7-0 lead and held scoreboard advantages of 9-1 and 14-1 by the close of the first and second quarters, respectively.
The Bobcats continued to pour on the offense in the second half by outscoring the Vikings 7-0 and 5-0 in the third and fourth quarters, respectively, to claim a 25-score margin of victory.
Rolph (seven), Bullock (six) and Bass (five) led the Bobcats in scoring, while Kyle Crans (So., Camden, Maine) also chipped in a hat-trick. James Calhoon (Fr., Menlo Park, Calif.) and Riley Ewing (Sr., Beford, N.H.) both notched pairs of markers with Dan Fothergill (Sr., Medford, Mass.) finishing on one chance.
John McDonaugh (So., Northbrook, Ill.) accounted for Augustana’s tally as he hit the back of the twine with 1:18 left in the first quarter of play.
Between the pipes, Nick Eaton (So., Lake Oswego, Ore.) made four saves in the first half for Bates to earn the win prior to Will Green (So., Swampscott, Mass.) stopping five shots in the second half. Nate Kies (Sr., Plainfield, Ill.) swatted away four shots in the first half for Augustana to suffer the loss. Jason Palmer (Fr., Libertyville, Ill.) finished out the contest for the Vikings with three saves over the span of the final 14 minutes of play.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Augustana College | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 |
| Bates College | 9 | 5 | 7 | 5 | – | 26 |
| Bates Goals: | Alexander Rolph (7); Jem Bullock (6); Sam Bass (5): Kyle Crans (3); James Calhoon (2); Riley Ewing (2); Dan Fothergill | |||||
| Augustana Goals: | John McDonaugh | |||||
| Saves: | Bates – Nick Eaton (4, 14 minutes), Will Green (5, 14 minutes) ; Augustana – Nate Kies (4, 14 minutes), Jason Palmer (3, 14 minutes) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Bates – 2 ; Augustana – 2 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Bates – 1-for-2 ; Augustana – 0-for-2 | |||||
| Sprints: | Bates – 4-for-4 ; Augustana – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Officials: | Dennis Kinne, Brian Swider | |||||
Photo 1: Bates College’s Alexander Rolph looks to shoot over a charging Jason McDonaugh of Augustana College; Photo 2: Augustana College’s Chris O’Neill lines up a shot; Photo 3: Augustana College’s Karthik Kasireddy attempts to avoid Bates College’s Jem Bullock
