With wins at Wesleyan (1-4 overall, 0-1 NESCAC) and Colby (2-3 overall, 1-2 NESCAC) last week, the Bowdoin Field Hockey team retained its No. 1 national ranking and is slated to face defending National Champion No. 3 Middlebury tomorrow in the Polar Bears’ biggest matchup of the regular season.
The Polar Bears and Panthers have dominated the league, facing off in the NESCAC Championship match for the past five years. Bowdoin was victorious in the NESCAC final last year, but was ultimately bested by Middlebury in the National Championship game.
“Losing to Middlebury in the National Championship last year is something the returners on this team will never forget,” said captain Kimmy Ganong ’17. “Although we all have that memory of how we felt on that field at the end of 70 minutes, we know that this is a new season with a different team. However, the goal is still the same—to beat every single opponent we face. Our focus at the moment is the game on Saturday and nothing else.”
Any anticipation for the match hasn’t changed the team’s approach to the week as they hone in on continuing to improve.
“Our focus this week has been just like any other week—getting better at the little things,” said Ganong. “[Head Coach Nicky Pearson] challenges each and every one of us to get better every day. Each member of this team is expected to come to practice with goals set and things to work on that will help this team win.”
The Polar Bears have started the year with an incredible run. After a win in the season opener to University of New England (UNE), the Polar Bears have knocked off four NESCAC opponents in a row.
The team hasn’t shown any signs of weakness; their closest game thus far was a 3-1 victory against UNE. In league play, the team has only allowed one goal all season, which came in a clinical 6-1 victory against Colby on Tuesday. Despite the margin of victory, the team is not letting up and continues to look for areas upon which to improve.
“It is extremely important to all of us that we learn from each game so we can make improvements for our next game,” said Ganong. “Something that stood out to us all about the Colby game was that we came out flat in warm-ups and the first half.”
“Luckily we went ahead 2-1 at the end of the first half and then were able to really step up our play in the second half and score four more goals.”
With four national titles in the past decade, the program is one of the most decorated at Bowdoin and knows very well the high level of play the sport demands.
“This team is coached and expected to play Bowdoin field hockey for all 70 minutes of the game,” said Ganong. “We remind ourselves of that and we hold each other accountable because we know that is what it takes to win.”
With Colby behind them, the Polar Bears are now focusing completely on the Panthers, who have had an impressive start to the season themselves, winning all three games so far including two NESCAC matchups against Connecticut College and Amherst. The revenge match will take place tomorrow at noon at Middlebury.