Courtesy of Brian Beard

The men’s lacrosse team (15–0; 10–0 NESCAC) completed the second undefeated regular season in program history last week with a 14–12 victory over Tufts University (15–1; 9–1 NESCAC). The team followed it up with a 22–4 NESCAC quarterfinal win over Williams College (7–9; 3–7 NESCAC) on Saturday. The Polar Bears are currently ranked number one in the country for the first time ever and will host Hamilton College (9–6; 5–5 NESCAC) in the semifinals tomorrow at noon on Whittier Field.

Last Wednesday in Medford, the Polar Bears snapped Tufts’ 42-game winning streak with their victory. The Polar Bears jumped out to a 5–1 first quarter lead on a four-goal run that included two goals each from Hudson Greene ’28 and Chris Berry ’27. Sam Raye-Steiner ’26 and Greene each finished with four goals, Berry tallied three goals and an assist and goaltender Alec Delgado ’28 stopped 12 shots.

“That Tufts game had a lot of runs by both teams, but the whole time I was fairly confident. I think we all believed what we were capable of,” Greene said.

The Polar Bears held their composure through each Tufts run, finding answers every time the Jumbos threatened to take control.

“There were definitely times when they went on runs and we had to settle in and realize that was expected, and then go on a run of our own,” Greene said.

Despite excitement over snapping the Jumbos’ winning streak, Raye-Steiner, a midfielder, kept the locker room grounded afterward.

“We were over the moon that night, but it’s so important to stay the course, you can’t be too high, you can’t be too low,” Raye-Steiner said.

He also discussed what the win meant for a team with bigger goals in mind.

“We beat Tufts, but it really means nothing because it’s [the] regular season, and we have a lot of growth and are not even close to the team we want to be,” Raye-Steiner said.

Three days later, the Polar Bears opened the NESCAC Tournament by pulling away from eighth-seeded Williams. Casey Ryan ’27 finished with three goals and four assists, Greene added two goals and four assists and Delgado made 12 saves.

In the second and third quarters the Polar Bears pulled off a 12-goal-run.

“During that run, the energy was really palpable, everyone could feel it and energy [was] so infectious,” Raye-Steiner said.

The performance was total, with every unit contributing and lifting the others in turn. For Greene, it represented something the team had been chasing since the first day of practice.

“We’ve talked the whole year about trying to play a full 60-minute game, and that was probably the closest we got,” Greene said.

Following these wins, Greene, who totaled 10 goals and six assists across both games, was named NESCAC Men’s Lacrosse Player of the Week. When asked about his own role in the team’s offensive surge, he was uninterested in the spotlight.

“At this point in the season, winning is all that matters, it doesn’t matter who’s scoring or who has the ball,” Greene said.

Head Coach Bill Mason credited the depth of his roster for sustaining that level of play deep into the season, particularly on the defensive end where the Polar Bears have dealt with a string of injuries.

“We’ve had a lot of injuries, so it’s really cool to see how prepared all of our defenders are stepping into new roles game to game, that one guy goes down and we have another guy who’s going to step in and make plays,” Mason said.

The wins pushed Bowdoin to 15–0, a mark men’s lacrosse has not reached since 1989. For Raye-Steiner, who has watched this team grow over four years, the milestone runs deeper than any number.

Mason placed the achievement in the context of everyone who has ever worn a Bowdoin lacrosse uniform but made clear the goal has not changed. The program has never won a NESCAC championship.

“It’s cool to get some recognition, but at the end of the day, what team is going to win a championship, that’ll be the real story,” Mason said.

Mason did not sugarcoat the challenge of facing Hamilton, a team who pushed the Polar Bears to overtime in last year’s NESCAC quarterfinals.

“Hamilton is really well coached, and they’re very tough, one of the more physical teams that you play, so we have to be ready to go,” Mason said.

Yesterday morning, many Polar Bears were honored with All-NESCAC awards. Berry was named the Offensive Player of the Year, Nico Schermer ’27 as Defensive Player, Ryan won Player of the Year and Mason and company were awarded Coaching Staff of the Year. Five players were named to first team All-Conference, including Alex Byrne ’26, Berry, Ryan, Schermer and Cam Wietfeldt ’27. An additional three players made the second team, including Raye-Steiner, Delgado, and Brooks Kitchel ’28.

For Raye-Steiner, who is approaching the final weeks of his college career, the stakes are felt differently.

“No path to the NESCAC championship or national championship is easy, so we’re focusing on Hamilton and treating every game like a championship game,” Raye-Steiner said.