As Christina Aceto '11 lined up for the penalty kick that could lead the her team to the NESCAC semifinals, adrenaline rushed to her head. Nonetheless, Aceto settled herself and cooly buried the ball in the bottom left corner of the net. Her shot is sending her and the rest of the women's soccer team to next round of the tournament, battling No. 1 Williams. But their road to victory has not been smooth.
The roller coaster ride began Friday, when then No. 4 Bowdoin took on No. 5 Tufts in the last game of the regular season. Both the Polar Bears and the Jumbos looked to win in order to have home-field advantage entering the upcoming playoffs.
The first half of play demonstrated the passion of each team, with the ball penetrating the deep corners of both sides' defense. Finally, in the 34th minute, Celeste Swain '12 volleyed a serve, courtesy of Ellery Gould '12, past the Tufts keeper and into the lower right corner of the goal.
Although Tufts outshot the Bears 7-3 in the first half, Bowdoin still held their 1-0 lead at halftime. Unfortunately for the Bears, Bowdoin's intensity dropped significantly in the second half of play, according to Swain. Barely 15 minutes into the second half, the Jumbos scored. The ball eluded keeper Kelly Thomas '09, as it ricocheted off the post and was sent to the back of the net by a Tufts forward who was ready in the center of the goal box. With the score tied 1-1, the Jumbos wasted no time, and just three minutes later, they struck again, capitalizing on a breakaway shot. Bowdoin failed to recover and fell 2-1.
The loss robbed the team of the chance to play at home, but it ignited the fire of revenge in the Bowdoin women. They were determined as they entered Sunday's playoff game at Tufts's Kraft Field.
"We really wanted to win," Swain said. "We knew we could beat them."
Although Tufts outshot Bowdoin 24-8, the Polar Bears drew the Jumbos into double overtime and after 110 minutes of scoreless play, into penalty kicks.
A first-round shot by Lynne Tempest '09 glanced off the post and just barely fell wide of the goal. Tufts, however, was able to net their first attempt and took the lead. Swain scored on her next shot and keeper Thomas saved the second Tufts effort. Both teams scored on their third attempts and, with the score even at 2-2, Gould was able to give Bowdoin the 3-2 advantage.
Tufts sent its next shot high and then came Aceto, who buried not only her shot but Tufts's hopes, as she advanced the Polar Bears to the NESCAC Final Four.
For her efforts during both regular play and the penalty kicks, Thomas was named the NESCAC Player of the Week. She had a career-high 15 saves in Sunday's game. Thomas averages 6.15 saves per game and has a .913 save percentage. She leads all NESCAC keepers in minutes played.
The next playoff game will be held tomorrow and will undoubtedly prove to be a challenge for the Polar Bears. The team will face tournament host Williams, who boasts an 8-0-1 record on the season. In preparing for their future, Bowdoin must again overcome their past: The team faced the Ephs in last year's final round but fell 4-0.
"We know they are ranked No. 1 in the nation, but we also know we can play well against them," Swain said.
No. 2-seeded Amherst will face No. 3-seeded Middlebury and the semi-final winners will advance to the championship on Sunday, November 9.