Courtesy of Brian Beard

In a win against Bates last Wednesday afternoon, Sophia Sudano ’24 added two more goals to her impressive tally on the year as the nationally-ranked Polar Bears climbed to a record of 8-5 (3-5 NESCAC).

Over the weekend, Sudano and the 14th-ranked women’s lacrosse team defeated 20th-ranked Amherst 11-9. After a low scoring first quarter, Bowdoin dominated the second quarter and went into halftime with a 6-3 lead. However, an early Mammoth rally knotted the score at 7-7 before the Polar Bears sealed the win with a couple clutch late-game goals. Sudano led all scorers with four goals to bring her season tally to 32.

Sudano’s effort marked another great performance in her stellar rookie season after losing her first-year campaign to Covid-19. She is currently second in the NESCAC in goals per game and is in the top ten in points per game. Earlier in the season, she earned NESCAC Player of the Week Honors after netting six goals against Williams. Her results are even more impressive considering her late introduction to lacrosse.

“I started playing [lacrosse] in 8th grade. I grew up playing soccer and was really intense about it. On the weekends, I would travel hours away for tournaments. Eventually, during my freshman year, I began to commit more time to lacrosse. I couldn’t balance them both in high school, so I began to devote more time to lacrosse,” Sudano said.

Sudano hails from an athletic family. Her father was a Division I basketball player, and many of her siblings played sports growing up. With sports being such a big part of her childhood, she knew from a young age that she wanted to play at the collegiate level. In making that dream a reality and performing at such a high level, Sudano credits lots of hard work.
“I do all of the team stuff. We do speed in the mornings, lifts and lots of captains’ practices in the offseason. We play around a lot and try to get a lot of stick in,” Sudano said. “A lot of my friends from high school are also lacrosse players in college. We have a league together where we can mess around a little bit and get better. Ultimately, I just try to follow the regimen I’m given and play outside as much as I can.”

Sudano also pointed to her team’s chemistry as a factor in her strong start.

“During spring break, we got incredibly close,” Sudano said. “All of us respect and love each other so much. It has really translated to games. [Our good start] is a testament to our team chemistry, how awesome all of my teammates are and how amazing my coaches are.”

With three more conference games remaining, Sudano has a very simple goal.

“Honestly, [my goal for the team is] to keep getting better,” Sudano said. “We need to keep getting better … and continue [to improve] our chemistry on and off the field, so when we get to the playoffs, we are all just our best selves.”
With a chuckle, she added, “Hopefully, we do well in the playoffs, too.”

The Polar Bears return to the field on Saturday, April 23 at 12:00 p.m. against Connecticut College in Brunswick, Maine.