The Bowdoin Men's Lacrosse Team's season came to end in a loss over the weekend, but the Bears still felt positive about their season.
The Polar Bears lost in the first round of the NESCAC tournament at Wesleyan, 7-3, on Sunday. The Cardinals never trailed in the game, and allowed only one Bowdoin goal in the first 41 minutes of play.
"We fought and fought until the bitter end, but as in the last time we played Wesleyan, the score was not indicative of how close the game actually was," said senior quad-captain Charlie Legg. "We hit six or seven posts, and if a few of those found the back of the net instead of the iron, it would have been a different ball game."
"Wesleyan is a very strong team with a very good goalie," added senior quad-captain Kevin Mullins. "I think we came out of the gates slowly and once you get behind, it is very tough to break a zone defense."
Quad-captain Matt Chadwick '07, Adam Tracy '07, and sophomore Bryan Holden each scored for Bowdoin. Legg stopped 12 shots in the loss.
The team entered its game on Saturday knowing it needed a win over Williams and a Bates loss to seize the last playoff spot. Bowdoin pulled off an exciting 6-5 win with a full-team effort in front of many former players celebrating the 50th reunion of Bowdoin lacrosse. Six different Polar Bears scored, and Legg made 13 saves, including six in the final quarter, to seal the win and ensure the seventh?and last?spot in the playoffs. To top it all off, the Bobcats lost at Wesleyan, 7-6.
"Although a number of players had a hand in the win on Saturday, I think Charlie Legg really stepped it up," said Mullins. "He made a number of point-blank saves at critical times in the game."
The team ended an exciting season and a season full of ups and downs and finishes the season with a 7-8 overall mark.
The captains cited a 12-11 overtime win against No. 6 St. Lawrence as a season highlight.
"The only loss on sixth-ranked St. Lawrence's schedule says Bowdoin next to it, and it marked a defining moment where our team realized how much potential there was for the future," Legg said.
"I am proud of the team because we were very young and faced a number of the struggles associated with being a young team," said Mullins. "However, I think our program is headed in the right direction. Throughout the year we proved that we had the skill but sometimes lacked confidence and poise necessary to succeed. As the young guys mature they will see more and more success on the field."
The Polar Bears still feel they have unfinished business, and that they were a talented team who may have been able to accomplish more.
"I think we obviously have to be disappointed as a team for not making it further in the NESCAC tournament or making the NCAAs," said senior quad-captain Dave Donahue.
"I think every team should have the goal in the beginning of the season to win a national championship," he added. "We had that goal and, though I am disappointed in the outcome of the season, at the same time I am proud of our guys for working hard day in and day out all season."
Last weekend was a weekend full of finality for the team. It featured the team's final game on the grass field outside the Harpswell Apartments. It was the team's final game of the season. And it marked the final time the team's seven seniors would compete for Bowdoin lacrosse.
"As I walked off the field at Wesleyan, all I could think was 'that game was my last shot,'" said Legg. "I was so sad to no longer have the privilege to put on a Bowdoin uniform and play with such an incredible group of players and coaches."