The Polar Bears fell to Middlebury away last Saturday, marking the team’s first regular-season defeat since October 2010. Ranked fifth the NFHCA D-III rankings going into the match, Bowdoin has since dropped down to sixth, while the Panthers, still undefeated, moved to second place behind Salisbury. 
Middlebury forward Lauren Greer, D-III’s goal leader  last year, scored the first goal for the Panthers early in the first period.  
Even play pushed both goalkeepers to make key saves, but Middlebury was able score again in the first half before Bowdoin managed to find the Panther’s goal.
Despite out-shooting Middlebury 15-14 in the first half and 7-6 in the second half, the Polar Bears failed to find the net again. Kayla Lessard ’13 and Middlebury goalkeeper Madeline Brooks each made six saves.
Head Coach Nicky Pearson said that though Middlebury capitalized on Bowdoin’s weaknesses, the Polar Bears are not a weaker team.
“They just converted on one more of their chances than we did,” she said.
Bowdoin missed numerous opportunities in the first 15 minutes of the match, giving the Panthers the momentum they needed to come away with the win. 
“They pride themselves on a fast and fluid transition game,” said Pearson, noting the Panther’s ability to convert rebounds and missed shots into offensive pressure. 
Pearson says she will focus on training her players to smoothly receive the ball in practice, as poor first-touches proved problematic against the disciplined Middlebury team.
“We will use this game the way we use every single game,” Pearson said. “The players will make the commitment that this will make them a stronger team. That has always been our approach.”
Coming off the dissapointing loss, the team played non-conference Me.-Farmington, winning 7-0. The win was unsurprising as the Polar Bears have not let Me.-Farmington score a single goal since Bill Clinton was in the White House. 
The team performed masterfully on defense, preventing the Beavers from even threatening the Polar Bear goalies. 
Bowdoin will have more chances to regain its confidence after the Middlebury loss in home games against Connecticut College tomorrow at 11 a.m. and Bates on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Conn. is 2-2 in the NESCAC, compared to Bowdoin’s 1-1 record.