Courtesy of Brian Beard

Nicky Pearson, head coach of the women’s field hockey team (5–1; 2–1 NESCAC), won her 400th game last Wednesday with a 3-0 win against Wellesley College (1–6). On Tuesday, the team played against Bates College (7–0; 3–0 NESCAC), a close 4-3 loss for the Polar Bears.

Clara Noyes ’27 talked about some of the expectations the team had going into last Wednesday’s game.

“We felt pretty confident going into Wellesley. We tried to obviously walk into any game with that mindset but also recognizing that every game we play will be [against] a pretty tough opponent. But we had a goal going [in] to really focus on scoring, especially on our corners. We did really well, especially in the first quarter of the game,” Noyes said.

Noyes explained that one of Bowdoin’s key strengths in the Wellesley game was well-executed passes between players, a technique the team had been practicing.

“We passed the ball really well as a team and maintained possession, starting from our backfield with our defenders. They showed a lot of patience on the transfers and moving the ball back and forth, then pushing it up into our midfield and then finally connecting with the forwards,” Noyes said. “We’ve really been focusing on making sure we have those connections during games.”

The game against Wellesley marked Pearson’s 400th win as a coach. The occasion was made even more significant by the fact that the win was celebrated on Bowdoin’s turf, where Pearson has coached since 1996.

“[Pearson] was just saying after the [Wellesley] game how special it is to her that it was at home versus … an away game. I think to her, it’s super special,” Noyes said. “I think that we’re all very happy for her that she got to experience that on home turf, [especially because] she’s been here for so long.”

Allie Straub ’28 commented on Pearson’s achievement, as well as the way she leads the team.

“It’s just so impressive … how long [she’s] dedicated … [and how long] she’s been here at Bowdoin. She’s done great things in the program, and I really trust her judgment. She’s just very supportive and is very attentive to the details and what we need to work on and pushing us. One thing she’s great at is really focusing the mood. So after a loss, she’s like, ‘Yeah, it sucks, but let’s go, let’s work harder.’ And she’s also able to celebrate the wins with us too,” Straub said.

Noyes added to Straub’s comment, explaining how Pearson works with the team in a way that can best help them thrive.

“[Pearson is] very supportive as a coach, and I think that everyone on our team really looks up to her as not just a coach, but as a leading female figure in all of our lives. She’s very straightforward with us after games, and she likes to sit down and ask us what we think we did well, instead of just telling us. We all really appreciate that because it gives us the opportunity to actually think about the game and learn from it,” Noyes said. “She’s committed to everyone on the team and making sure that everyone has things to work on and knows what their strengths are. And I think everyone really appreciates that.”

At halftime on Tuesday, when Bowdoin was 3–0 against Bates, Pearson gathered the players and encouraged them to keep up their hard work.

“The biggest reminder she said was, ‘This game is not over’. We were working hard, and so, it was more so about continuing that,” Straub said. “Just because you’re [up 3–0] at halftime, it doesn’t mean, especially in the NESCAC, [that] the game is over.”

Though the Polar Bears ended up losing at Bates, the team is looking to take this loss and use it as momentum for future games.

“We’ve been talking about growth a lot this season…. The growth starts when we lose, and we turn it into something positive,” Straub said. “We really want to keep it in. Because losing is not a fun feeling…. It’s really just fueling us momentum-wise to work harder.”