The top-seeded field hockey team goes into the 2015 NESCAC Championship, which it is hosting this weekend, with a desire to add another championship to its list of accomplishments. The Polar Bears will start the weekend against eighth-seeded Bates in the quarterfinals.
Bowdoin views every team in the NESCAC as a tough opponent, no matter its seed.
“We always approach every game the same, regardless of our opponent,” Kelsey Mullaney ’16 said. “We focus on ourselves and what we do best.”
This season, Polar Bears have made game-to-game consistency an even larger point of emphasis than usual. They see this focus as an advantage going into the playoffs.
“We view our season as an upward trajectory with our last game being our best game of the season,” captain Kim Kahnweiler ’16 said. “If anything, this mindset calms us going into the NESCAC Championship because each game is just another game with the same goals as the last game.”
Bowdoin plans on focusing on often overlooked basics, such as first touch on the ball, correct defensive position and pass precision.The team sees these fundamental techniques as the root of any success on the field.
“We have made a point that they are not little things,” said Head Coach Nicky Pearson. “They will have a big impact during our games. In this way, we hold ourselves to a higher standard regarding these skills.”
While Bowdoin is ranked No. 1 among Division III teams in the country, the NESCAC is filled with other highly-ranked teams. Middlebury is No. 3 in the country, Tufts is No. 15, Amherst is No. 16 and Williams is No. 20.
The Polar Bears defeated all of these teams—and every other team they faced—this season, finishing the regular season with a perfect record in the NESCAC in going 10-0 against conference opponents. Despite the record, Polar Bears looks back to their regular season for not only confidence, but also to identify improvements they can make for the upcoming tournament.
“I feel incredibly excited about the team’s performance so far during the regular season. We don’t like to lose, so my mood has been pretty high,” Kahnweiler said. “What I like best about our team culture is that we leave every game, even if it was a blowout win, with a list of things to improve on. We don’t dwell on the wins for very long.”
Thanks in large part to Kahnweiler and a strong defense, Bowdoin leads the conference in fewest goals allowed per game at 0.66, permitting just 10 goals in 15 games.
Since 2011, Bowdoin has competed against Middlebury in the NESCAC Championship final every single year. However, the last time the Polar Bears beat Middlebury was in 2011. The past, however, does not affect the Bear’s confidence.
“Going into the tournament, keeping in mind our desire to win is essential,” Pearson said. “I really do think the team has a belief that they are going to win. It will come down to us playing better and wanting it more than our opponents.”
The Polar Bears play their quarterfinal game against the Bobcats tomorrow at 1 p.m. on Ryan Field.