Senior captain Alec Szwarcewicz recorded a brace and the Bates men's soccer team defeated Maine Maritime Academy 2-0 Tuesday night in the season opener for the Bobcats.
Bates (1-0) turned in a dominating performance, out-shooting the Mariners (1-2) by a count of 20-2. The Bobcats finished with nine shots on goal while MMA did not force Bates first-year goalkeeper Nico Hessel (Brattleboro, Vt.) to make any saves. Hessel played all 90 minutes in his collegiate debut. Trevor Gray made seven saves for the Mariners.
The match stood scoreless until the 49th minute when junior John O'Connor (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) delivered a brilliant pass that Szwarcewicz (Newton, Mass.) headed into the back of the net.
Bates' most experienced forward wasn't done. In the 66th minute, first-year Cesar Hoover (San Diego, Calif.) found Szwarcewicz with a reverse pass and he curled the ball into the far top corner for the 2-0 lead.
With the brace, Szwarcewicz ups his career goal total at Bates to eight.
The Bobcats have won six of their last seven contests against MMA and this marks the seventh straight year the men's soccer team has won its season opener.
Bates welcomes rival Bowdoin to town Saturday for a match that gets underway at 2:30pm.
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