With one week left in the regular season, the men's lacrosse team is practically in playoff mode. The upcoming week will decide the outcome of the team's entire season. It features four NESCAC games, two of which are against in-state rivals Colby and Bates.
The Polar Bears (5-5, 2-3 NESCAC) suffered a disappointing but encouraging loss to fifth-ranked Tufts in Brunswick on Saturday. The team was on the short end of a 9-7 score, but gave the Jumbos (9-1, 5-1 NESCAC) quite a scare. Senior Alex Weaver found the net to tie the game at 4-4 midway through the third quarter, but a Tufts three-goal rally put the game out of reach. Weaver scored three times in the game, while senior Matt Chadwick had three assists.
"I thought that our team played very well against Tufts," said senior quad-captain Charlie Legg. "If one or two things bounced our way instead of theirs, we would have gotten the win."
Bowdoin benefited from stellar play in the net, as Legg stopped 15 shots in the loss.
"The last few games Charlie has really stepped it up in net," senior quad-captain Dave Donahue said. "It's nice knowing that if you make a mistake defensively, Charlie will be right behind you. I still think we haven't seen the best from Charlie and with four league games next week, I think he will really do well."
Legg, however, credited the Bowdoin defensemen for his own recent personal success.
"I had a high number of saves on the stat sheet because, just as they have done all season, my defense didn't allow Tufts to get very many good looks at the goal," said Legg. "Our defense does an excellent job of disrupting the opposing player's shot by getting a stick on their hands, and making me look good in the process. In all honesty, most of the credit should go to them."
The Polar Bears begin the most important week of their season on Saturday. The team will face off in an away game at Amherst, which stands at sixth place in the league, one spot ahead of Bowdoin.
"Amherst has a potent offense but might be vulnerable defensively," Legg said, "so we will have to possess the ball and shoot wisely."
On Monday, Bowdoin will travel to Waterville to play Colby for a game that was rescheduled due to weather. The contest between the two rivals will be extra intense because both teams will need a win in order to ensure a spot in the playoffs.
"No matter what their record has been the past three years, Colby always gives us everything we can handle, and this is their best squad since I've been here," said Legg. "As a team we will have to take advantage of their aggressive defense and keep playing as hard as we have been."
"We need to beat Colby in order to stand a good chance of making the playoffs," Donahue added.
The Polar Bears will play at Bates on Wednesday and finish the regular season by playing host to Williams next Saturday.
"I think it's a realistic goal for the team to win the last four games and possibly host a NESCAC game next Sunday after Williams," said Legg. "The league is wide open, anybody can beat anybody. We are in control of our own destiny."