Coming off of only its second loss of the season at Tufts, the field hockey team handled Trinity easily in the first round of the NESCAC tournament last Saturday, earning a 6-1 victory over the Bantams.
Earlier in the year in Hartford, it took a double-overtime goal by Colleen Finnerty ’15 give the Polar Bears a 2-1 win. Bantam keeper Sophie Fitzpatrick made 13 saves to keep her team in the game, but could not prevent the game-winning shot by Finnerty in the 92nd minute of the match.
This time around, the game-winning goal came much earlier in the contest. Bowdoin took the lead less than two minutes into the game, as captain Katie Riley ’14 opened her extraordinary performance by tucking home a rebound to put the Polar Bears up 1-0. Less than eight minutes later, Riley scored her second of the afternoon, and the first of two assisted by Rachel Kennedy ’16. It would prove to be the winning score, as Trinity was once again limited to a single goal.
However, the Polar Bears did not stop their scoring there. Riley capped off her historic effort by scoring more two goals off penalty corners early in the second half. In doing so, she tied the NESCAC tournament record for most goals in a single game, which was first set by Middlebury’s Lauren Greer last year. Kennedy and Finnerty again provided for their captain, earning an assist each.
“She always steps up in big games, and I think her touch in this game was just 100 percent on,” said captain Liv King ’14.
Finnerty and Pam Herter ’15 each found the back of the cage before the final horn, giving Bowdoin a 6-0 advantage. Though Trinity did sneak in a late goal, it made no difference. From the outset, the Polar Bears played like a far superior team.
“There’s really something different about being at home, in front of your friends and family,” said King. “I think we were just really on our game and everyone was working together as a team.”
This weekend, Bowdoin will travel to Amherst for the semifinals and potentially the finals of the ultra-competitive NESCAC tournament. Currently, there are four NESCAC teams ranked among the top six in Division III, including No. 2 Tufts and No. 4 Bowdoin. Last time the teams faced off, the Jumbos handed the Polar Bears a 1-0 defeat in Medford.
“We came out of that game thinking there were a few things we could have done better, but for the most part I think we played well.” said King.
The game was a close one—as both teams managed just two shots on goal—though Bowdoin held a 9-4 advantage in shots overall. King also mentioned how motivated the team was to get a result after last week’s loss and getting knocked out of the NCAA Tournament last year by Tufts in the semifinals, before the Jumbos went on to win the National Championship.
According to goalie Hannah Gartner ’15, Head Coach Nicky Pearson wants to focus on improving Bowdoin’s game and imposing the team’s style on the game.
“[Coach Pearson] talks about focusing on our game and not the other team, and bringing our game and the standard of how we play to every game,” said Gartner. “It’s more about us bringing our game to them.”
There were certain things Gartner said she herself might practice in order to prepare for specific opponents.
“Tufts likes to take their reverse shot on corners off my left foot, so I was working on that in warm-ups,” she said.
Overall, Gartner sounded confident her team could flip the result from Bowdoin’s last meeting with Tufts.
“It was a really close game last time,” she said. “If we execute everything we can do this weekend, I think we can definitely get the win.”
The Polar Bears will play the Jumbos at Amherst tomorrow at 1:30 p.m., with the winner taking on the victor of the Middlebury-Amherst matchup on Sunday for the NESCAC Championship.