The field hockey team fought its way back to the top tier of the NESCAC standings with two home league wins over the weekend, one against Amherst and the other versus Middlebury.
The team parents were heard complaining of added gray hairs due to the fact that Bowdoin won both games coming from behind.
In Saturday's game, the Lord Jeffs scored in the first half despite pressure early on from Bowdoin. Amherst scored again in the second half, but the Polar Bears refused to lay down.
After many futile attempts, the offense was finally able to produce with about nine minutes left when captain Burgess LePage '07 connected with Julia King '09 on a corner. Another corner provided the tying goal when junior Hillary Hoffman tipped in another shot from King.
"The whole team offensive effort played a huge role in today's game. We scored off of two corners which was crucial to the win," said sophomore forward Lindsay McNamara.
McNamara fired the decisive shot in overtime that LePage knocked in to make sure it crossed the line for the 3-2 win.
"Coming off a perfect regular season last year, I was a bit nervous about how this year's team would deal with situations when we had to play down a goal," said LePage. "This weekend in our Amherst game, our two defensive breakdowns led to goals. We had to stay calm and collected, confident that the next goal would be ours. I was really impressed with the perseverance of every player on the field and the strength with which we fought back. Losing was never an option."
On Sunday, the Polar Bears faced off against Middlebury in a battle of two nationally-ranked teams.
"The difference from the Amherst game to the Middlebury game was astonishing," junior defender Val Young said. "By the second game on the weekend we came out and controlled the game. We played with determination and urgency that was evident not only in the key timing of our goals, but also in the percentage of time that we had control of the game. On Sunday we played our game, setting the pace, and we completely took Middlebury out of their game."
Middlebury scored the first goal, and the score was 1-0 at the half. Bowdoin answered back though, with a goal by LePage, assisted by sophomore forward Maddie McQueeney.
For her efforts and offensive production in both the Amherst and Middlebury games, LePage received the honor of NESCAC player of the week.
The go-ahead goal was scored by Hillary Hoffman off of a corner, but minutes later Middlebury tied the game at two apiece.
Still, Bowdoin was not fazed. Senior Kate Leonard made a number of game-saving stops, including a diving save that gave Bowdoin the energy to take the ball back down the field. McNamara then scored the game winner goal with just 1:35 left on the clock, lifting Bowdoin to a 3-2 victory over the Panthers.
Senior captain Susan Morris reflected on the weekend.
"Our goal was to come out of this weekend 2-0 and we did just that," she said. "For the second season in a row, I think the Middlebury game was a pivotal and crucial success for our team. We have set the bar high and need to continue to keep working hard in practice so that each day we are a little bit better."
Even with the wins tucked away, the Bears know they will need to keep up the momentum from previous games when they face a strong Tufts team over Parents Weekend, as the Jumbos visit Brunswick on Saturday. The field hockey team must also prepare for a visit to Connecticut College on Wednesday, October 11, to challenge the 4-4 (1-3 NESCAC) Camels.