The Bowdoin Men's Soccer Team dismantled two of the NESCAC's premier teams this past weekend in Brunswick. The two victories vaulted Bowdoin back into 13th place in the most recent Division III men's soccer poll. The guys also managed to extend their modest winning streak to three games.

The opening match of the weekend was an epic defensive battle against Amherst right up to the final whistle. Nick Figueiredo '08 was able to break the 0-0 deadlock in the 60th minute by slotting home a Wolf Grueber '08 cross that was knocked in by first-year Hugh Fleming.

Before and after this short burst of offense, Bowdoin settled in and let the back five show the extent of their talent. The key to this win was the sense of confidence that all eleven players exuded on the field. They all refused to panic, Figueiredo explained.

"What set us apart from them was that we were able to hold onto the game when it wasn't going our way," he said.

The next day featured an equally gripping and tense match-up against an always strong Middlebury side. The game, a 2-0 victory for Bowdoin, improved the team's record to 6-1 (4-1 NESCAC) and allowed the Polar Bears to savor the taste of redemption after last year's battle.

In 2005 Bowdoin traveled to Panthers territory and got "bullied" in a 3-0 loss, according to Figueiredo. The Polar Bears did their best to ensure that no such antagonism would take place again this season.

The Bears used a 20-yard strike from Simon Parsons '07 to go up a goal and never looked back from there. Parsons received a pass from Figueiredo and lofted the ball over the head of the poorly positioned Tufts net-minder in the 38th minute.

Bowdoin relied on the play of its very tough and determined back four as well as goalkeeper Nathan Lovitz '08 to secure the win. In this regard, it is only fitting that captain Brendan Egan '08, a defender, put an end to the affair by running coast-to-coast and scoring on an empty net with less than a minute remaining on the clock.

Goalie Lovitz was especially valuable last weekend. He produced back-to-back shutouts, saving a whopping total of 13 shots over the two-day span. The consecutive clean sheets added to his season tally of four and lowered his NESCAC-leading save percentage to an impressive .897 after seven games. He has also managed to go perfect over his last 216 minutes and 17 seconds in goal, which is the equivalent to more than six halves of soccer. His stellar performances earned Lovitz NESCAC Player of the Week honors.

"The defending starts with the forwards and everyone has been doing a great job this season," Lovitz said. "I must say that they deserve most of the credit. I just happen to be the keeper so it makes me look good."

Bowdoin will try to continue its winning streak this weekend against Tufts on Saturday. The game will be played at Farley and the starting time is 12 p.m.