Coming off a 21-1 campaign and a NESCAC title last year, the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) ranked Bowdoin No. 2 in its Division III preseason poll. NESCAC rival and defending national champion Middlebury took the No. 1 spot, setting the two teams up for another year of close competition in both the NESCAC and national arenas.
Bowdoin opened its season on Wednesday with a 3-1 win over the University of New England.
Going into the opening match, captain Kimmy Ganong’s ’17 expectations for the team were high.
“[We want to] definitely come out firing, get a win right away, start our season off on the right foot and to play to every last whistle and for all 70 minutes,” said Ganong.
The team did just that as first year Kara Finnerty closed out the match in the 68th minute with the Polar Bears’ third goal. The decisive win starts off what is sure to be another strong, competitive season for the program.
“[The team is] coming off a terrific season and the returners will have learned a lot from what they achieved, and that’s what we’re taking from the season,” Head Coach Nicky Pearson said. “We don’t look back and we don’t look too far forward. The level that they played at will just give them confidence, and that I think is what will drive them as individuals this year.”
However, falling short of a title in the National Championship Final for two consecutive years remains a motivating force in the minds of the upperclassmen.
“It still hurts thinking about the national championship, not only last year but the year before that too,” said Ganong. “What’s special about the seniors is that we won the national championship our freshman year so we know what it takes. We’ve been there, we’ve done it, and we’re determined to repeat that—to go all the way and come home with a championship.”
As they start their campaign, Pearson and the team are honing in on maintaining a strong defense and converting on scoring opportunities.
“The game is won and lost in the circles,” said Pearson. “So our focus is to be solid defensively and really limit the scoring opportunities our opponents have in our defensive circle and then in our offensive circle focusing on our preparation and execution of the opportunities we have to score.”
The team faces a number of challenges this season, one of the largest being adapting to a high degree of turnover both on the team and coaching staff.
In addition to a substantial class of eight first years, the program welcomes Kelly McManus as the new assistant coach. After graduating from Bates in 2012, McManus was an assistant coach at MIT for the last four seasons.
“McManus is a very accomplished coach,” said Pearson. “Her priority is to coach defense and straight away she took the time to get to know those players and to coach them in preseason; her transition into our team has been seamless.”
In addition, last year’s senior class left some large shoes to fill, such as Kim Kahnweiler ’16 who was recently named an NCAA Woman of the Year Top 30 nominee.
Kahnweiler isn’t the first member of the Bowdoin Field Hockey program to receive this honor. A testament to the program Pearson has built over the last 21 years, Michaela Calnan ’11 and Elena Crosley ’13 were also NESCAC nominees for NCAA Woman of the Year. This honor recognizes not only athletic and academic achievement, but service and leadership during nominees’ collegiate careers.
According to Pearson, the leadership of the team’s senior class has been instrumental in this season’s transition.
“There have been a lot of new faces in the program, but the speed with which the team has come together is impressive,” said Pearson. “I give them a lot of credit, particularly to our captains and our seniors. This whole senior class has presented a united front to the team about what we stand for, what the expectations are and what an honor it is to wear the jersey.”
Even with the loss of 5 seniors and a few underclassmen, the team has an untouched midfield line and a strong core of versatile returners, giving them a solid foundation to build off of this season.
“[Pearson] always keeps in mind the future and sets the players up to really know how to play multiple positions and be ready to go in at any point,” said Ganong. “She says she’ll always play the best player that’s performing for the team at that moment, so whether you’re a senior or a first year you could be called upon at any moment and you’re expected to really play your best and win for the team.”
The team had a chance to test these changes in team strategy and dynamic, as well as identify strengths and weaknesses going forward, in scrimmages against NESCAC competitors Tufts and Bates before the season opener.
“Our spacing, passing the ball and supporting the ball carrier were big priorities for us and I thought we did well in regard to that,” said Pearson. “We created some good opportunities but I think we were disappointed considering the amount of possession we had that we didn’t convert that into more goals. So it’s going to be a focus for us and has been over the last couple of days.”
The team faces Amherst in its NESCAC opener Saturday at 11 a.m. at home.