The Bowdoin Men's Soccer Team looks to kick off its 2006 season at home against Bates on Saturday. The Polar Bears are optimistic, and hope to utilize their maturity and talent against the Bobcats.
The 1 p.m. match against Bowdoin's NESCAC rival will also provide an opportunity for the Bears to prove that they merit the No. 16 ranking in D3Kicks.com's preseason poll.
Captain John Hollis '07 described his anticipation.
"We're excited as a team to get on the field and try to grind out a result against an always very tough Bates team," he said.
The team hopes to rebound from last season's disappointing defeat in the first round of the NESCAC tournament.
After finishing last season 7-2 in the NESCAC (11-3 overall), the second-seeded Bears failed to live up to expectations when they lost to the eventual champions, Wesleyan, in the first round.
But the team plans to use that disheartening experience as "fuel for the fire," explained returning All-NESCAC forward Nick Figueiredo '08.
The Polar Bears are determined to last longer this year, Head Coach Fran O'Leary said, declaring that he firmly believes that his players "want to be part of the best team in the NESCAC."
O'Leary's offensive attack should be relentless as the Polar Bears return with forwards Simon Parsons '07 and Wolf Greuber '08, who combined to score 17 goals last year, along with dynamic midfielders Figueiredo, Hollis, and captain Anthony Regis '07.
At the other end of the pitch, the unit will be lead by captain Brendan Egan '08 and Dominic Fitzpatrick '09. Nathan Lovitz '08 will tend goal for the Polar Bears, hoping to improve on his impressive 1.05 goals-against average from last season.
Said Egan, "We have a very good chance at doing something special this year."