The Bowdoin Field Hockey Team continued its now 23-home-game winning streak over the weekend to earn a bid to the NCAA Final Four in Geneva, New York.
On Saturday, the Polar Bears were an offensive force, scoring five goals against Wellesley College (16-5) in a 5-2 win. The first two goals came from converting back-to-back corners where Gail Winning '07 sent a hard ball out to Val Young '08, who placed it for Julia King '09 to drive into the corner.
When asked what made the corners clique to result in scoring, King simply responded, "Practice."
But, the undeniably lethal corners have become a strong suit for the Bears in the playoffs, and much of their success has come from execution of these set plays. It is no surprise that two of the Polar Bears involved in the corners have been named All-NESCAC as Young, the stick stopper, and King, were two of four players honored.
With a 2-0 lead from the corners, Wellesley forced Bowdoin into defense mode as pressure from Wellesley resulted in a few corners for the Blue. The Polar Bears, though, deflected these attempts and moved back down field to play offense. A feed from Lindsay McNamara '09 set Hillary Hoffman '08 up for the third goal, which she fired into the corner before the half.
Coming out strong after the break, McNamara scored when she deflected a shot by King. A few seconds later, McNamara tipped the ball to Sarah Horn '07, who slapped home the final Polar Bear goal. Wellesley continued to fight hard and managed to score two goals, but Bowdoin held off its late attempt to move onto the Elite Eight on Sunday.
"The strength and cohesiveness of the team has undoubtedly improved with each game. Our first games of the season were a bit choppy," said junior Meaghan Maguire. "When we made changes in our levels of communication and trust in one another, the connectedness and fluidity across the field improved. Because we have been able to continuously strengthen our game, we have been successful this postseason."
In the Division III regional final on Sunday, the rain did not stop Bowdoin from dictating the game and beating William Smith (18-4) 3-1. Again Bowdoin found offensive opportunity off of a corner, this time when co-captain Burgess LePage '07 tipped a shot from King past the William Smith goalkeeper. The game was back and forth, with Bowdoin and William Smith having a few chances each, but the Polar Bears held a 1-0 lead at the half.
After the half, William Smith had a number of scoring opportunities, but the Bowdoin defense denied them. Finally, William Smith converted on a corner, tying the game at 1-1. With plenty of time left in the second half, Bowdoin continued to push offensively, and was able to regain the lead when McNamara collected a rebound and scored off an initial shot by King.
Bowdoin added another goal with under 15 minutes left to insure its lead at 3-1 when LePage was able to turn and slap a ball into the goal off a shot from further out by McNamara.
After a strong regular season, a NESCAC championship, and now NCAA playoff success, it is no surprise that Bowdoin grabbed four All-NESCAC selections. McNamara, who leads the league with eight game-winning goals, has been unstoppable in her first two seasons, scoring 31 goals in all. Along with McNamara, Young, a surefire defender with assists too, and Kate Leonard '07, the last wall of defense with a .56 goals-against average, were all named to the first team. King, who has been a force in the midfield with speed, agility, and an exceptional drive, was named to the second team.
Head Coach Nicky Pearson was also honored with Coach of the Year for the fifth time, as she has led the Bears to a 33-2 record over the past two years and back-to-back teams into the NCAA Final Four.
"Going into this season, it seemed as if we had a lot going against us," said LePage. "Coming back to field hockey after a whirlwind year. "I think many of us were a bit nervous about how we were going to fill the hole we couldn't ignore. With that said, I am so proud of the team that I saw playing this past weekend to return to the Final Four. Not only did we never give up, but we pushed ourselves to play harder than we knew possible. We play for each other and it showed."
After a successful weekend, Bowdoin will travel to William Smith College in Geneva, New York, for the Final Four as the top seed at the tournament. The team will play Messiah College (17-4) at 2 p.m. today in a rematch of last year's NCAA semifinals, which the Falcons won 2-1.
Looking to the championship weekend, Pearson said "when we went to the Final Four last year, we were new to the atmosphere and schedule. This year, we know more, so it is like a business trip. We are set to play hard and play our game."