Courtesy of Brian Beard

This past week, the Bowdoin women’s soccer team (2–5–5; 1–5–1 NESCAC) won 2–1 against NESCAC rival Bates College (4–6–1; 1–6–1 NESCAC). This win extends the Polar Bears’ historic 20 game unbeaten streak against Bates to 18 wins (18–0–2).

Bowdoin started strong, utilizing space in wide areas to create goal-scoring opportunities. Early on, Kayley Huleatt ’28 crossed the ball to Jackie Shores ’28 to open up the scoring just fourteen minutes into the matchup.

“The energy was really high. We knew what we wanted and how we needed to work to get it.… Getting that goal early was really big for us because it allowed us to keep the energy high and not settle,” Shores said.

Although the Polar Bears entered halftime leading 1–0 with a 9–2 edge in shots, Bates equalized just fifteen minutes into the second half, tying the game up at 1–1. Shores emphasized the support and strength the team fostered to help the team finish the game with a lead.

“Obviously, we were very disappointed, but I’m really proud of my team for not letting that get to our heads and still fighting for another goal. That was pretty huge for us,” Shores said. “After they scored, we all talked to each other and regrouped. We knew that we had the capability to [come back], and we knew we needed to do it together instead of separately.”

With only ten minutes left in the game, Shores scored from outside the box off another pass from Huleatt to bring the Polar Bears 2–1. Shores finished with five shots on goal, two goals and a win.

“I’m really proud of our team for getting our first NESCAC win against Bates. Those are some big steps in our season,” Shores said.

Huleatt, who completed the game with two assists and one shot on goal, reflected on the win and how it felt like a great team effort.

“We really set the pace for the rest of the season,” Huleatt said. “We look to start every game really strong and come out and surprise them. I think we did just that. We knew we had to keep them and not let them score. It was a really nice team win.”

Later in the week, the team tied 1–1 against Trinity College (2–8–1; 1–6 NESCAC).

Defender Grace Harvey ’27, who played all 90 minutes against both Bates and Trinity, emphasized the incredible performances and energy the first years bring to the team.

“We have a very new team and we have a lot of freshmen that are really good.… They’ve really stepped into positions,” Harvey said. “They’re excited. They’re competitive. They want to win, so it makes everyone else push themselves more.”

Even though the Polar Bears ended the Trinity game with a tie, Harvey believes the team has much more to offer and much more to finish.

“We need to trust ourselves, trust each other and score some goals. We want to win all our games, sweep the rest of the NESCAC, make the NESCAC tournament and do well from there,” Harvey said.

While Bowdoin tied Maine Maritime Academy (5–4–3) with a final of 1–1 last Tuesday, the Polar Bears look forward to returning to Pickard on Saturday at 12 p.m. in a crucial match against Wesleyan University (9–0–2; 5–0–2 NESCAC), which doubles as the team’s senior day.

“It’ll be really nice to have a home game and it’ll be our senior day game. I’m hoping that brings even more energy,” Shores said.