The men's lacrosse team is firing on all cylinders as it rolls into one of its toughest tests of the season tomorrow. The team will host Middlebury in what could become one of the defining moments of the year for the team.
"[Middlebury has] some of the best offensive players in the country," said senior quad-captain Rob Halliday. "We have to keep playing as well as we have been on defense, and keep sharing the ball on offense, if we want to get a win. We have to show a lot of poise and play smart Bowdoin lacrosse."
Winners of five straight games, Bowdoin (7-1) will look to keep the streak alive against a top-notch NESCAC foe. Middlebury (6-1) is consistently one of the best teams in the league.
"We have got to play great defense and keep them in single digits in the scoring column," said Coach Tom McCabe, "that'll be important for us. We'll get our goals but we can't get into a race of a high-scoring match with them."
On Wednesday, Bowdoin beat Springfield for the team's fifth-straight win. After a sluggish start, the Polar Bears scored five goals in the second quarter to take the lead for good and, behind a strong defensive unit, notched the win.
"Our defense played really well," said McCabe. "Greg Pierce ['12], a defensive middie, is really playing well, as are all of our defensemen."
McCabe cited seniors Boomer Repko and quad-captain Bryan Holden, and juniors Jamie Devereux and Henry Andrews, for especially strong defense.
"We tried to remain patient defensively and not create offense for Springfield," said McCabe. "They had a lot of possession but they weren't getting great shots. We had to be patient and not try to do too much."
Senior quad-captain Cullen Winkler paced the team with three goals and sophomore Kit Smith contributed two goals and an assist. Bowdoin also scored on three man-up opportunities in their second-quarter flurry.
Eight players scored for the Polar Bears, and the team continues to show its depth.
"Having so many offensive options makes it tough for teams to defend against us, if you can have a lot of different players score," McCabe said. "It's exciting and great for team chemistry and team morale, and it's really good for our confidence. Some individuals can score a bunch, but it's nice when you can spread it out, makes it tough to defend."
The Polars Bears, ranked No. 13 in the nation, head into their clash with Middlebury and will look to move up in the polls with a win over the No. 7-ranked Panthers.
"There's no added pressure with the rankings," Halliday said. "They just motivate us more to show that we're better than those 12 other teams."
"The teams we're playing in the coming weeks are ranked ahead of us so the pressure is on them," added McCabe.