Women's lacrosse endured a tough outing to Middlebury. Playing in the wind and cold on Saturday in Vermont, the Polar Bears seemed out of their element.
After falling to the Jumbos in their first loss of the conference and the season last Monday, the Bears suffered a second defeat, falling to Middlebury 15-6. With a 6-2 record, the Panthers boast a second-place ranking in the NESCAC, while Bowdoin is seeded fifth.
The Bears opened strong and within 10 minutes led Middlebury 2-1. However, Middlebury soon retaliated with a five-goal push, from which Bowdoin never recovered. At the half, Middlebury led 7-4.
Fresh from the break, senior co-captain Brooke Nentwig and junior Taylor White quickly scored two for Bowdoin. However, the Bears could not hold onto this burst of momentum. Middlebury dominated the re-maining 26 minutes of play, scoring eight more goals and neutralizing Bowdoin's offensive power. The Panthers closed the game with a 15-6 victory.
Sophomore Lyndsey Colburn and junior Kate Donoghue also picked up goals for the Bears, while first-year goal tender Stephanie Collins-Finn stopped 12 shots.
Although the loss injured their NESCAC standings, the Polar Bears quickly recovered as they brought home a win against the Plymouth Panthers. They dominated Sunday's game in New Hampshire out scoring Plymouth State 15-7. The Polar Bears are now 8-2 overall.
Sophomore Bobbi Dennison led the Bears in goals, scoring four. Donoghue had three, while Nentwig and sophomore Bridget Keating posted two points apiece. Junior Jill Steigerwald, senior co-captain Jena Davis, and first-year Emily Straus also netted one goal each. Goalies Collins-Finn and sophomore Kat Popoff had 11 saves between the two of them.
Bowdoin grabbed the lead after the opening draw and never looked back. The Bears proceeded to play strongly, with the Panthers only briefly responding with a goal with 12:55 remaining in the first half. After the half, Plymouth scored only one more at the 26-minute mark before Bowdoin took off and scored five-straight goals for the win. The Polar Bears shouldered a rough beginning this weekend, but returned to Brunswick with a strong win.
Bowdoin will play at home this weekend against Trinity College on Saturday at 1 p.m.