The men's lacrosse team collected two enormous NESCAC wins this past week, cruising past both Amherst and Bates by scores of 12-9 and 8-6, respectively.
On Saturday, the Bowdoin squad took on the Amherst Lord Jeffs at home. Bowdoin took an early 3-2 lead by the end of the first quarter with goals from Owen Smith '11, Thadd Welch '08, and Cullen Winkler '09. The second quarter began with a quick goal by Mike Giordano '08, capitalizing on a man-up situation on a pass from Rob Halliday '11. Sophomore Steve Thomas then whipped in his contribution at the 13:15 mark of the second quarter, assisted by Winkler.
Amherst and Bowdoin each tallied another goal before the half elapsed, as Justin Starr '10 scored unassisted with just two minutes left in the second quarter. Senior Gordon Convery started the game in goal, contributing five saves in two quarters of work before turning the cage over to fellow senior Alex Gluck, who would go on to split six saves between the final two quarters. The second quarter ended with Bowdoin up by a score of 6-3, but while Amherst was down, they were definitely not out.
Amherst opened the second half with a bang, notching a quick goal to make the score 6-4. Bowdoin and Amherst would finish the third quarter by trading goals back and forth until the quarter ended with the score at 9-6, Bowdoin leading. Smith ripped his second goal of the game, while Eric Thompson '11 tallied Bowdoin's third goal of the quarter.
The fourth quarter was marked by repeat offenders in the scoring column, as Smith tallied his third goal of the game, Giordano and Welch both notched their second goals. Though Amherst showed resurgence in the fourth quarter, Bowdoin's solid late-game defense proved to be too much for the Lord Jeffs when the game ended with a score of 12-9.
Bowdoin's midweek home game against Bates on Tuesday proved to the NESCAC that the Polar Bears' strength in the Amherst game was certainly not a fluke. The Bowdoin squad came out swinging, leading at the end of the first quarter by a score of 3-2 on goals from Steve Thomas '10, Giordano, and Smith. The second quarter saw a calmer pace as only one goal was scored in the entire period, by Bowdoin's Winkler.
After halftime, the Polar Bears picked up the pace of the game as the Bates goaltender was hit by goals from Harry Ashforth '09, Welch, and Giordano, while Bates tallied two of its own to make the score 7-4 heading into the fourth quarter. Bowdoin's final goal came from Winkler, his second of the game, with 10:23 left in regulation. Bates wasn't ready to end the game just yet, though, as they answered with two more goals in the fourth quarter before the game ended with a score of 8-6 in favor of Bowdoin.
With these two decisive victories, Bowdoin has climbed to a 9-4 overall record, including a 5-3 record in the NESCAC, putting the Bears in fourth place in the conference. On Saturday, Bowdoin will travel to Massachusetts for a 12 p.m. game against the Williams Ephs, who stand currently at 6-5 overall, 3-5 in the NESCAC.