Heading into last Saturday's game at NESCAC-leading Tufts, the Polar Bears knew they needed to win if they hoped to prolong their up-and-down season.
Behind early goals from first year Elizabeth Clegg and senior Lindsay McNamara, Bowdoin looked like a team that would not be denied as they jumped out to a 3-0 advantage.
Tufts' Chrissie Attura scored a goal to cut the lead to 3-1 but Clegg quickly answered for the Polar Bears with a goal of her own assisted by McNamara.
The following 10 minutes saw Tufts dominate on both defense and offense as they sprinted back to a 5-4 lead on the strength of four consecutive goals.
Once again, Clegg had an answer for the Jumbos scoring her third goal of the first half—this time unassisted—to get Bowdoin back in a 5-5 tie with less than five minutes remaining in the first half.
After giving up another goal to the Jumbos, the Polar Bears responded with less than 10 seconds remaining in the half by tying the score on the back of Clegg's team-high fourth goal of the game.
In about as even a first half as possible, the two teams played to a 6-6 tie with roughly the same number of turnovers, shots, ground balls, draw controls, and clears.
The second half would prove to be a different story entirely.
Tufts opened with a pair of goals before sophomore Katy Dissinger scored to trim the deficit to a single goal.
After a heated first half, Tufts' experience and poise took over, shooting 16 times and limiting Bowdoin to just eight shots in the second half.
Tufts capitalized on their advantage in shots, ending the game—and the Polar Bear's season—with a five-goal run to win by the final score of 13-7.
Senior tri-captain and Bowdoin's all-time wins leader Steph Collins-Finn finished the game with 11 saves and four forced turnovers while McNamara, who also plays for the field hockey and women's ice hockey teams, ended her storied Bowdoin athletic career with two goals and an assist.
With the win, Tufts sealed the NESCAC's No. 2 seed by improving to 13-1 on the season (8-1 conference) while Bowdoin fell to 8-7 (3-6 conference) and narrowly missed the conference tournament for the first time in the NESCAC's nine-year history.
"We would have gone on if Conn. College had beaten Wesleyan," said Alex McLain '11. "We were very hopeful at the end of the game, but we found out mid-huddle that they lost and we were heartbroken."