The weather is warming up rapidly, and so is the Bowdoin Men's Lacrosse Team. This weekend, the Polar Bears head into the NESCAC portion of their season with a game against Middlebury College, the reigning NESCAC champions. The Panthers will be stiff competition for the Bears, who currently have a 6-3 record, with impressive wins against Williams, Tufts, and Connecticut College.
Last weekend, the team fell to Wesleyan University in an unexpected defeat, losing 6-3 to the Cardinals in its first official NESCAC conference game.
With two goals by Thomas McKinley '06 and a successful shot by Ryan Hurd '06 in the second quarter, the Polar Bears led Wesleyan 3-2 at the half. However, the Cardinals returned to the field with a strong defensive team, stopping Bowdoin's offense, and adding four goals to finish their tally for the win.
"We played well in the game but could not finish down the stretch. Wesleyan is a good team and it was a really close game. We are happy with our effort?if a few bounces had gone the other way we would have come out on top. If we see them again we will emerge victorious," co-captain Connor Fitzgerald '06 said of the team's performance.
This weekend's Middlebury game, in addition to three more home games, will determine Bowdoin's ranking in the NESCAC and the team's shot at winning the conference title, as well as making the NCAA tournament. Middlebury, like Bowdoin, has one loss in the NESCAC this season. In past years, the Polar Bears have defeated the Panthers at home, and the last two matches went into overtime.
"We have to go into the game expecting it to be close and we want to put ourselves in a position to win," senior Dan Chaput said. "A couple of keys to winning will be playing great defense, face-offs, and winning ground balls. In a really close game, those small things will all add up to make a huge impact. If we can win those parts of the game, we should be in really good shape."
This team has a large roster this season, with many entering first years training for the seasons to come. Co-captains Fitzgerald, Ford Barker '06, Brian Duggan '06, and McKinley are setting the tone with an extremely competitive level of play, as well as leadership on and off the field. Other seniors, including Chris Eaton and Andrew Nelson, have also been strong contributors in the past four years, making a big impact in more recent seasons.
With a powerful core group of experienced players, the Polar Bears are in a good position to be strong competitors for the NESCAC title. The Polar Bears will face Middlebury College on Saturday, at 1 p.m. at Pickard Field.