The women’s lacrosse team (6-1 overall, 3-1 NESCAC) started off hot this season with a six-game win streak, propelling it to a No. 3 national ranking. After losing to Middlebury (5-1 overall, 3-1 NESCAC) last weekend and dropping to No. 5 in the nation, the team will host Trinity on Saturday, looking to further assert its prowess in the highly competitive NESCAC.
“I’ve been impressed by how our team started from the beginning and by the level they’ve been playing at,” said Head Coach Liz Grote. “We’re always looking to grow every day from there.”
Of the six early-season wins, captain Taylor Wilson ’15 thought the team’s victory over Amherst stood out as a highlight.
“For us, coming off of last season, we lost to them during the NESCAC tournament, which kind of sealed our fate,” said Wilson. “We didn’t get a bid for the NCAA tournament.”
The Polar Bears came back with a vengeance this year, beating the then-No. 1 Lady Jeffs 10-6 on March 7.
“It gave us reassurance that we could hold our own, too, because from that point on, we just had more confidence with every team we played,” said captain Natalie Moore ’15. “It sent a message to the whole NESCAC that we weren’t going to let our season last year happen again.”
The game against Middlebury this past weekend ended the team’s win streak. Middlebury was boosted by a first-half run during which they scored four consecutive goals.
According to Wilson, the PolarBears did not feel that the game was an accurate reflection of their team.
“We didn’t come out of that game feeling like Middlebury walked all over us,” she said. “We made mistakes on our own thathurt us. It was more likewe beat ourselves more than Middlebury beat us...The way we played in the Middlebury game is not the way we play and not the standard that we hold ourselves to and have reached in our other games.”
Grote said she felt similarly.
“I do think we played very well as a team,” she said. “Statistically we beat them in categories, but it’s the goals at the end of the game that matter.
“We don’t let one loss define who we are,” she added. “If anything, it will give them more fuel. Just a little more added incentive to say, ‘Let’s get that groundball next time.’”
Wilson agreed that the loss could be used as motivation.
“I think it’s a blessing in disguise that we did have a bump in the road this early in the season, because how we react to it is going to say a lot about our team,” said Wilson.
The Polar Bears now turn their attention to Trinity (7-1 overall, 3-1 NESCAC), whom they will host tomorrow at noon.
“Every team in the NESCAC is technically a big game,” said Moore. “Trinity, Middlebury, Amherst—those top three teams mean a lot tous and we want to go out and defeat them. This is the last of those three and we are really excited to play.”
Two of Trinity’s coaches are former Bowdoin players: Katy Dissinger ’11 is the Bantams’ head coach, and Betsy Sachs ’14, a Polar Bear captain last season, is an assistant coach.
“To me, it’s awesome to see former players in the coaching ranks,” said Grote. “I’m very proud of them. I’m hoping our team doesn’t look at it as, ‘Oh, we’re playing [Dissinger] and Betsy [Sachs] today,’ but rather that we’re playing Trinity and we have to go get our win.”
Moore mentioned that Trinity was the D-III national runner-up last year, meaning this weekend’s game is good practice for the competitionBowdoin may face in the postseason. Grote said she will look to her seniors in a game of this magnitude.
“[Moore and Wilson’s] leadership has been great,” she said. “The drive that they have and all eight seniors in that senior class—it’s a pretty special class. hey all have a great desire to win. I think that’s something that’s going to help carry us through the season.”