The Bowdoin Orient

This weekend the field hockey team will face the undefeated Bantams of Trinity College, hoping to build on the momentum it gained with last weekend's victory over Williams. The Polar Bears will be looking for revenge as the Bantams handed the Polar Bears one of their two losses last season, the other loss coming from the Jumbos of Tufts University. "Our last two games are the two biggest games of this season," said senior co-captain Shavonne Lord. "They are against our two toughest opponents and they are both 'must win' games. If we pull all of the pieces together we have the ability to come out on top."

Over the past two weeks, the women's field hockey team improved their record to 8-3, accumulating four wins with only one loss. The dynamic offense recorded 24 goals and posted a staggering 124 shots, while the defense continued their solid performance by limiting opponents to only four goals and 20 shots.

The stifling defense and dynamic offense of the women's field hockey team accumulated a total of 73 shots on goal and 11 scores while limiting its opponents to just seven shots. The team didn't allow a single goal on the way to earning its first NESCAC victory of the 2009 season on Saturday. The Polar Bears subsequently improved their record to 3-1 with a victory against the University of Southern Maine (USM) on Tuesday.

The field hockey team will lace up its turf shoes this coming weekend for the opening game of the 2009 season. The team finished with an impressive 19-2 record last season which, along with their NESCAC Championship victory and Division III NCAA title, have placed the Polar Bears at the top of the National Field Hockey Coaches Association preseason poll.

The Bowdoin Field Hockey Team punched its ticket to the 2008 NCAA Final Four Tournament after two exciting victories over Stevens Institute of Technology and Middlebury last weekend. The team will look to defend its 2007 title at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania, this year's site of the final four.

Despite its loss to top-seeded Tufts earlier in the season, the Bowdoin Field Hockey Team rallied in the NESCAC tournament behind junior Kara Kelley, beating Tufts 1-0 and winning its fourth consecutive NESCAC championship. The Bears also took care of Middlebury 4-0 in the semifinals of the tournament.

This past week's field hockey action featured both a regular-season heartbreaker and a decisive postseason victory. The field hockey team fell short in its game against Tufts, losing the right to host the NESCAC Championships. However, the team's first-round victory over Bates in the NESCAC tournament was critical to jump-starting the team's postseason journey.

Silencing all the rumors of being overrated and regaining their spot at the top of the national rankings, the women of the field hockey team trounced the Colby Mules last Saturday by the score of 8-1. Senior co-captains Lindsay McNamara and Julia King only needed 90 seconds to quiet the crowd in Waterville, Maine. King smashed a ball from the top of the circle and McNamara was positioned at the goalmouth for the tip behind Mules net-minder, Liz Fontaine.

Tasting defeat for the first time in two seasons, the Bowdoin Field Hockey Team fell to the Trinity College Bantams last Saturday afternoon. The 2-0 shutout snapped a 39-game home win streak and a 31-game overall win streak for the Bears, as well as the first Trinity victory over Bowdoin since 1997.

Blood, sweat, and tears all hit the turf during the past two weeks for the field hockey team as they added three more tallies to its win column. The Polar Bears are now 11-0 on the season and have out-scored their opponents by a staggering 38-2. Last Saturday, Bowdoin traveled to New London, CT to face the Connecticut College Camels. A strong team effort from the Polar Bears helped propel them to the 3-1 victory.

Turning out to be a bigger threat than anticipated, the Amherst Lord Jeffs applied the most pressure to the Polar Bear defense of any team all season last Saturday. Despite the offensive onslaught from Amherst, and the Bears' first surrendered goal of the season, Bowdoin prevailed with a 3-1 win at Ryan Field. Securing the victory over the Jeffs required contributions from Bowdoin's top three scorers, solid defensive play, and acrobatics between the pipes from goalkeepers Emileigh Mercer '09 and Emily Neilson '11.

Playing on a grass field notorious for causing unpredictable bounces, at an away field, with a number of players sidelined with injuries, all the conditions were in line for a spoiler for the Bowdoin Field Hockey Team. It was certain that the team would have to bring a focused and disciplined game plan to the University of Southern Maine (USM) Tuesday afternoon.

Even the crisp Maine air could not help the Bates Bobcats temper the dynamic Bowdoin Field Hockey Team last Wednesday night as the Polar Bears cruised to a 6-0 victory. Continuing with their dominating trend, the Polar Bears held a 32-3 shot advantage and controlled the ball for most of the 70-minute contest. Netting the first goal for Bowdoin was forward Lindsay McNamara '09. Charging up the right side of the field, McNamara followed the rocket she sent in on Bobcat goalkeeper Katie McEnroe and knocked the rebound home at 8:34 in the first half.

With jets buzzing over Ryan Field this weekend and the relentless onslaught of the Bowdoin field hockey team, the Wheaton College Lyons and the Wellesley College Blue Tide must have felt like they had stumbled into a war zone. The Polar Bears kicked off their 2008 season with two shutout victories and two record performances from co-captains Julia King '09 and Lindsay McNamara '09.