The Bowdoin Orient

The men’s lacrosse team’s season ended last Saturday in a heartbreaking overtime loss to Wesleyan in the NESCAC Quarterfinals. The fifth-seeded Polar Bears concluded their season with a record of 8-7 while the fourth-seeded Cardinals improved to 12-4 and continue on to play top-seeded Middlebury this coming weekend.

In the first quarter, Wesleyan was quick to take a 2-1 lead. The Polar Bears answered forcefully, rallying to end the first half up 6-3 and forcing Wesleyan to change goaltenders. In the third quarter, Wesleyan tied the score by racking up three unanswered goals. 

The Polar Bears regained their footing in the fourth quarter, when Peter Reuter ’16 scored to regain the lead. Minutes later, however, Wesleyan responded with a goal of its own, bringing the score to 7-7 and forcing the game into overtime. The teams traded possession in the first few minutes of overtime before Wesleyan was able to capitalize with 1:21 left, by sinking a hard shot into the back of the net, ending the game 8-7.

Over the weekend, the men’s lacrosse team celebrated its senior day with a sizeable victory over Endicott, 14-4. On Wednesday, however, the Polar Bears fell to Tufts in a 21-8 blowout that ended the team’s regular season.

In the first quarter of Saturday’s game, the Gulls held a 2-1 advantage in scoring until Billy Bergner ’13 netted three goals in a row to give the Polar Bears a two-point scoring gap heading into the second quarter. In the following period, the team extended this goal difference, bringing the score to 9-3 heading into intermission. Dan Hanley ’14 accounted for the only goal in the third period, and in the fourth the Bears outscored the Gulls 4-1 to bring the lopsided final score to 14-4.

Bergner, who was celebrating his last regular season home game, scored a team-high of four goals during the match. According to him, the win was due to both the offense and defense stepping up to dominate all aspects of the game. Changes in the offensive plays also helped the team to earn such a dominating victory. 

Despite a bumpy opening to its season—in the form of a pair of NESCAC losses to Connecticut College and Amherst—the men’s lacrosse team has finally found its stride. The team is in the midst of a 5-game win streak after locking up two important 7-6 victories last weekend against conference rivals Middlebury and Williams. The wins helped push Bowdoin (6-2, 3-2 NESCAC) from No. 20 to No. 14 in the D-III rankings and third in the latest regional rankings.

Saturday’s game proved to be especially important for the Polar Bears, who dealt Middlebury its first loss of the season. Billy Bergner ’13 netted a hat trick to pace the offense, and Peter Reuter ’16 and Will Wise ’14 each scored once.

 In the first quarter against the Panthers, a 1-1 tie was broken by  junior Franklin Reis’ wrap-around goal with only three seconds remaining. Middlebury tied the score again just 30 seconds into the second quarter. The Bowdoin attackers maintained their composure, answering with three uncontested tallies to bring the score to 5-2 heading into halftime. 

In the past two weeks, the Nordic skiing team has continued its impressive season by bringing home two more top-10 finishes at weekend carnivals. On the first weekend of February, the team travelled to Stowe, Vt., to compete at the University of Vermont Carnival, where it finished ninth out of 13 teams. This marked the first time since 2009 that Bowdoin—which placed eighth the previous weekend—earned two consecutive top-10 finishes in winter carnivals. According to Head Coach Nate Alsobrook, this trend is especially impressive considering the conference in which Bowdoin has been competing.

On Saturday, the women’s soccer team had a crucial NESCAC win against Hamilton.

This past weekend, the unbeaten Middlebury Panthers dealt the women’s soccer team its first loss of the season, dropping the Polar Bears (4-1 overall, 2-1 NESCAC).

Last weekend, the women’s soccer team bested non-conference opponent Brandeis University in a 2-1 victory.

Amherst edged the women's lacrosse team out of the NESCAC quarterfinals on Saturday. Although the Polar Bears trailed the Jeffs closely at intermission with a score of 5-4, Amherst managed to overpower them in the second half and win the game 9-7.

Men's lacrosse defeated Endicott 8-4 last Sunday and lost to Tufts 15-7 on Wednesday, bringing the team's overall record to 11-4. This is the first time since 2008 that the Polar Bears have won 11 games, and concludes a 5-0 out-of-conference record.

The women's lacrosse team crushed Wesleyan on Saturday, besting the Cardinals by 11 goals in an 18-7 victory. On Wednesday, however, Bowdoin lost to No. 8 Colby in a close 10-9 game. At Colby, the Mules took a 6-5 lead into halftime before the teams each scored four goals in the second half.

The women's lacrosse team lost to undefeated Trinity 13-6 before fighting to an 18-12 win against Endicott last week. The Polar Bears were unable to recover from an early 5-0 deficit in the Trinity game, which ultimately cost them the match. The Bantams' victory avenged their only loss in the past two seasons, which came at the hands of Bowdoin in last year's NCAA quarterfinals.

Coming back after its second conference loss of the season on Saturday to Middlebury, the women's lacrosse team bested Williams on Sunday and shellacked the University of Southern Maine on Wednesday for two wins. In Wednesday's match against Southern Maine, Bowdoin allowed its fewest goals of the season and outshot the Huskies 33-14 for a 14-3 victory.