Before losing to Williams 2-0 on Sunday, the men’s soccer team was playing its best soccer of the season and enjoying a five-game win streak. The Polar Bears now stand at 7-4 (3-4 NESCAC) as they head into their final four regular season games.
The streak included wins over University of New England, Husson University, Trinity College, University of Southern Maine (USM) and Hamilton College. In four of those games the team did not concede a single goal.
A day after beating Hamilton, the team went on the road against Williams. Despite the loss, Bowdoin was only narrowly outshot by the Ephs (14-11) and held a 9-1 advantage on corner kicks. The Polar Bears almost tied the game early in the second half on a header by Nick DiStefano ’18, Williams increased its lead to two with eight minutes remaining on its lone corner kick.
Two weeks ago Bowdoin outshot Trinity 10-2 in the first half, but the score remained 0-0 at the break. In the second half, Sam White ’15 scored both goals for the Polar Bears, who maintained the 2-0 shutout.
“I thought the guys came out with a lot of healthy energy,” said Head Coach Scott Wiercinski. “I thought our mid-field shape didn’t give them a whole lot of space to operate, and defensively we kept the ball in front of us when they had possession. I thought defensively it was our best effort so far.”
With the win over Trinity, Bowdoin moved to 2-3 in conference games.
“We were excited to get back into the NESCAC and prove that we can win in the league,” said Captain Eric Goitia ’15. “So naturally there was a lot of energy that came from that, and we had a lot of confidence from our last two games against UNE and Husson.”
Despite only a day of rest after the Trinity game, Bowdoin came out firing in its next contest against USM on October 6. The team ultimately won 6-0, and scored five second-half goals.
“Against USM, we came through a lot in the second half and started to move the ball a lot more, which increased our confidence. It was a complete performance,” said Goitia.
Thomas Henshall ’15 opened the scoring in the 45th minute, followed by three consecutive goals by Austin Downing ’17 in the 56th, 58th and 60th minutes. Ben Ginzberg ’18 and Pat Kearon ’17 also had goals for the Polar Bears.
“I thought we passed the ball pretty well and created a lot of chances, though we didn’t do a good job hitting the frame in the first half,” said Wiercinski. “In the second half we did a better job of stretching them out and finishing our chances.”
At Hamilton last weekend, senior Sam White opened the scoring in the 11th minute with his fourth goal of the season. Goitia followed early in the second half, scoring the eventual game winner off of a free kick. After the Polar Bears conceded a goal, Matt Dias Costa ’17 scored an insurance goal in the 72nd minute to secure a 3-1 win.
The Polar Bears resume action this Saturday at home against Connecticut College, who is just behind them in the standings, at 12 p.m.