With a first-round win over Colby, The Bowdoin Women's Lacrosse Team made a play at NESCAC semifinals for the first time in its history.
Their colossal 13-4 victory over the Mules sent them to Middlebury, where the Polar Bears played the first-ranked tournament host on Saturday.
Although the game ended in a Middlebury victory, the Polar Bears held the Panthers to their smallest victory margin all season with a score of 7-9.
Colleen McDonald '05 opened the game with a quick goal, which goalie Kendall Cox supported with a phenomenal stint in goal.
The Bears were able to keep the score at one apiece, until Middlebury notched three quick goals toward the end of the first half. Both teams battled back and forth until the half ended with Middlebury up 5-3.
Middlebury came out of the halftime rest with fire and scored four goals to Bowdoin's zero. Angela King '04, Hilary Abrams '04, and McDonald changed that, however, and each scored to make it 9-7 with less than two minutes to go.
Bowdoin was unable to hit the back of the net again, however, and the game ended with Middlebury two goals ahead of the Polar Bears.
Cox made an impressive 14 saves to keep the Polar Bears in the game throughout.
Senior captain Shoshana Kuriloff was extremely proud of her team.
"The first time we played Middlebury, they beat us by nine goals," she said. "The fact that we were able to challenge Middlebury with the intensity we did was a great victory for us. This is an amazing way to finish off my Bowdoin career."
Another bonus for the team was yesterday's announcement of the NESCAC All-Conference Team. Bowdoin's Cox, King, and defender Betsy Rose '06 received first-team NESCAC honors, while McDonald made the second team. Bowdoin tied Amherst and Middlebury for the most first-team picks in the league.
Bowdoin's strong representation of underclassmen indicates a firm future for the team, and the squad plans to remain a force to reckon with in the NESCAC.