Blood, sweat, and tears all hit the turf during the past two weeks for the field hockey team as they added three more tallies to its win column. The Polar Bears are now 11-0 on the season and have out-scored their opponents by a staggering 38-2.
Last Saturday, Bowdoin traveled to New London, CT to face the Connecticut College Camels. A strong team effort from the Polar Bears helped propel them to the 3-1 victory.
The first goal of the contest came courtesy of Julia King '09. Set up for a left penalty corner attempt, King collected the pass from Kristen Veiga '09 and rocketed a shot just inside the near post at 16:12 of the first half.
Lindsay McNamara '09 added some insurance to Bowdoin's lead before the half was over. King drove the ball to the middle of the scoring circle where McNamara was waiting to redirect it into the back of the cage.
The Camels came out strong in the second half. Outshooting the Polar Bears six to four. However, Emileigh Mercer '09 stayed strong between the posts for Bowdoin, only allowing one goal.
McNamara would not let the game end on an unanswered Camels goal. With 3:31 remaining on the clock, Ingrid Oelschlager '11 charged down the right side of the field and fed a hard cross to McNamara on the left for the deflection behind the Connecticut College goalkeeper.
"Our game against Connecticut College was the first of four demanding games at the end of our regular season. We went in with the mental focus and fight needed to defeat the Camels right before our Fall Break," said defender Ashley Peterson '10.
On October 4, the clash between the two field hockey giants, Bowdoin and Middlebury, took place on the turf of Ryan Field, in a rematch of the 2007 NCAA National Championship game.
There were only two goals in the match and both came from McNamara. Twenty-five minutes into the first half, King blasted a waist-high shot toward the right side of the net and McNamara was able to get her stick on it for a mid-air deflection past the Middlebury goaltender, Caitlin Pentifallo.
Another King-McNamara connection resulted in Bowdoin's second goal with 8:19 remaining in the game. King sent a hard, low shot to the left post and McNamara redirected it into the net to seal the win for the Polar Bears.
Even though the Polar Bears had a 20-6 advantage in shots, Bowdoin goalies Emily Neilson '11 and Mercer were called upon to make two saves a piece, and defenseman Leah Ferenc '09 had to sacrifice her body on a Middlebury penalty corner attempt. Ferenc's injury required six stitches and kept her out of competition for one game.
"One of our goals for the Middlebury game was to play with a high level of intensity while remaining composed and I think everyone on the team committed to this goal," said Julia King.
Carrying this intensity and composure from the victory into their next game on October 8, the Polar Bears sailed past the Beavers of the University of Maine-Farmington with a 3-0 shutout. In the game, Bowdoin first year Ella Curren scored the first goal of her college career.
The Polar Bears will host the Trinity College Bantams this Saturday for Homecoming Weekend. Trinity is currently ranked third in the NESCAC and has a talented offense that averages 3.90 goals per game, and could challenge the solid Bowdoin defense.