The Bowdoin Men's Soccer Team took advantage of the festive atmosphere this past Homecoming weekend to book its ticket to the NESCAC postseason.
The Polar Bears clinched a playoff spot after the grueling 120 minute 1-1 draw with Connecticut College on Saturday and then sent out a warning shot to the rest of the conference by defeating an extremely talented Wheaton team 2-1 on Sunday.
Bowdoin's Nick Figueiredo '08, who leads the NESCAC in points with an outrageous clip of 1.73 points per game, called Sunday's victory "the best game we have played all season."
The Polar Bears exploited a youthful Lyons team in every facet of the game with the help of some veteran savvy from their senior leaders.
Figueiredo got the ball rolling in the 11th minute with a wonderful unassisted goal to give the home team a 1-0 advantage.
The senior leader took possession of the ball on the left wing, made two Wheaton defenders wish they had never made the three-hour trip from Massachusetts, and slotted the ball into the bottom left corner of the net.
The Lyons responded half an hour later to bring the score to 1-1 with a dubious goal.
Bowdoin goalkeeper Nate Lovitz '08 appeared to have been fouled during the scramble in front of the net that took place just moments before the goal was scored.
The referee did not see anything and let the goal count as the only blemish on an otherwise outstanding day for Lovitz and the rest of his back four.
The Polar Bears were able to regroup and bounce back from this questionable goal just five minutes into the second half as Micha Greuber '08 scored what would end up being the winning goal.
The decisive outburst from the Bowdoin attack started all the way at the back as Dominic Fitzpatrick '09 lofted a pass into the box where Figueiredo was waiting to play the ball onto Greuber. Greuber took full advantage and one timed it into the top right corner.
Everyone in attendance was shocked to see that the net was fully intact after the rifle shot by Greuber which Figueiredo described as "one of the best goals we've scored all season."
The strong finish to the Wheaton game was especially significant when one considers that less than 24 hours before, the Polar Bears were reeling from a 1-1 draw to Connecticut College, a team that is winless in all seven of its NESCAC games so far this year.
Connecticut College came out strong on Homecoming Saturday and proved that they are better than their record indicates.
They scored the opening goal in the 53rd minute and held onto the lead for much of the second half, to the great dismay of all the alums in attendance. Then, this weekend's hero Figueiredo scored the equalizer in the 82nd minute.
The goal came off a well-timed pass from Ben Denton-Schneider '11 who has made a nice niche for himself as a real impact player when the game is on the line.
All in all, the result may have been disappointing, but as Figueiredo explained, "The tie was certainly better than a loss, and it was good enough to ensure us a place in the NESCAC tournament."
By having a hand in all three goals scored this weekend, Figueiredo definitely had an impact on the results from this weekend but he may have also affected the history of men's soccer at Bowdoin as well.
His two goals gave him a grand total of 31 for his career as a Polar Bear, which makes him just one shy of the school record.
Figueiredo will have his next shot at the record on Saturday as the Polar Bears face Trinity in Hartford in a crucial NESCAC showdown with playoff implications.
After Saturday's game, the men will travel back to Brunswick for a tough battle against nationally ranked Babson College at 1 p.m. on Sunday.