The Bowdoin College Women's Lacrosse Team beat Bates 12-8 at Ryan Field on Tuesday night, helping the team's push for a postseason bid. Now 4-4 in the NESCAC, the Polar Bears are in a four-way tie for fourth place with one game left in the regular season. The win knocked Bates (2-6 NESCAC) out of playoff contention.
Although both teams were playing with fervor from the start of the game, Bates managed to get ahead 3-1. Many Bates fans traveled to Bowdoin for the game, but the heckling only fueled Bowdoin's fire. Juniors Ali Draudt and Lyndsey Colburn both scored on free-positions during the first half. Senior tri-captain Jill Steigerwald also added two goals in response to the Bobcat's early lead.
"Our Bates game was a must-win to make the tournament," senior Meaghan Tanguay said.
"We were able to move the ball well on offense and score some nice assisted goals. On defense we were able to shut down their feeds, and then when they started to drive on us, we were able to adjust to that too," she said.
After halftime, Bates scored three quick goals to move ahead 7-6, but Bowdoin immediately fought back. Sophomore Christina Denitzio started the rush, and junior Bobbi Dennison followed with a pair of goals.
The Polar Bear defense was almost impenetrable in the last portion of the game, holding Bates to just one goal.
On Saturday, 11th-ranked Bowdoin upset eighth-ranked Amherst (5-3 NESCAC) 11-10 despite an offensive flurry by Amherst in the final minutes of play. The key to the win was the Polar Bear defense as it held a powerful Amherst offense to just two goals in the first half. By tightening up on their end, the Polar Bears allowed their offense to fire home six goals for a 6-2 lead at the half.
"We played with a lot of fire and intensity," said Tanguay. "We went hard and fast to the net and finished with some awesome goals, but the success of the game came from our midfield transition."
In the second half, the two evenly matched teams traded goals, but Bowdoin managed to hold on to the lead it had built in the first half for the win. Draudt scored the game winner with four minutes left to play, and a defense backed by sophomore goalie Steph Collins-Finn thwarted the Jeffs' attempt at a comeback.
Bridget Keating '08 was a force for the Polar Bears as she scored three goals in the game. Senior tri-captain Taylor White and Colburn both added two tallies for Bowdoin. With contributions from many players, Bowdoin will try to continue with its team success when it travels to Williams this weekend.
Senior Jenna Pariseau recapped the weekend, saying, "We had a lot of momentum going into the Bates game from a big win over Amherst this past weekend, and we really fought deep tonight to pull ahead and secure the win. It was a full team effort and it was a big win. We are going to use this momentum and fire from our recent wins on Saturday against Williams."