In the midst of last Saturday's sudden snow storm, the women's soccer team battled Amherst to a close 3-2 overtime loss in the first round of the NESCAC playoffs.
Like the weather, the match was a dramatic affair that peaked toward the end.
No. 8 Bowdoin visited No. 1 Amherst for what initially seemed to be a runaway match for the undefeated Lord Jeffs (15-0, 10-0 NESCAC). Amherst made a strong impression right from the start, as it played a tight pressing game and quickly capitalized on two Bowdoin breakdowns in a tenacious fashion.
Within the first five minutes of the match, Amherst's Mel Stier crossed the ball into the box where an unmarked Sarah Duffy placed the ball past Bowdoin goalkeeper Maddie Lane '14.
Minutes later, a scramble in the box led to yet another goal for the Lord Jeffs, as Stier got the ball in.
Despite the early setbacks, Head Coach Maren Rojas said she was proud of her team.
"I don't believe we were playing badly, Amherst just capitalized on our mistakes," she said.
Rojas added, though, that Bowdoin's inability to do the same—"to capitalize and find enough ways to win"—was the recurring problem that led a team with high early season expectations to enter the NESCAC tournament as the last seed and to lose in the first round.
The team's slow start and eventual comeback to force overtime was "representative of the season," said captain Ellery Gould '12. Despite streaks of overtime losses over the course of the season, the Polar Bears have managed to stay competitive against their opponents.
To spark the comeback, Gould converted a penalty kick with 1:49 remaining in the first half. Early in the second half, Gould got her second goal of the game—the 46th of her career—as she drilled in the tying goal from the top of the 18-yard box.
Gould noted that the team was confident entering overtime, motivated to avenge its devastating 3-2 double overtime loss to Amherst just three weeks before.
As the snow fell harder, the tension and intensity were palpable as both a Bowdoin and an Amherst goal were called back. Bowdoin's was denied for an offensive foul while Amherst's was deemed offsides.
However, Bowdoin's experience in overtime situations could not overcome Amherst's ability to capitalize on the Polar Bears' mistakes, withAmherst striker Kathryn Nathan rocketing in the winning goal a mere 1:25 into the extra time.
Gould said the result stung the Polar Bears especially hard because "with the ridiculous conditions at the end of the game, it could have gone either way."
Though disappointed, both Rojas and Gould were impressed with how the team stayed positive, persistent and competitive throughout not only Saturday's snowy match, but also a season full of heartbreaking losses.