Women's rugby, which currently has a record of 6-2, will go up against Bates on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The game will be the Polar Bears' final match of the season, ending the tier-two playoffs, which the team entered after failing to make the tier-one playoffs.
"We're looking forward to our game against Wellesley this weekend," said Katie Mathews '12. "They are a tough, physical team and it should be a good game, but we have been working hard at practice all week so we will be ready."
Spirits are high for the women's rugby team, which looks to cap off its winning season with a win at home over the Bobcats.
"It will be nice to see some other teams and good-quality rugby this weekend," said Mathews.
Bowdoin is entering its final match coming off a muddy, rain-soaked shutout victory against Amherst.
"It was a challenging game, given the weather conditions and Amherst's skill," says Mathews, "but we were able to put a lot of pressure on them and forced them into mistakes."
The muddy, dug-up nature of the field made running slow and passing difficult. The Polar Bears, traditionally a team that relies on its superior ball handling skill, produced despite the wet conditions. Bowdoin used consistent pressure and solid playing to give Becky Stevens '11 an early try off of a ruck.
Bowdoin then used a 30-yard kick return by senior co-captain Hannah Larson to get the field position necessary for Uche Esonu '13 to punch in another try, bringing the score to 10-0 at the halfway mark.
In the second half, first year Dani McAvoy set up another try for junior Loryn Fridie, bringing the score to 15-0 after a missed kick.
Junior Anna Nicol then took it hard up the sideline to score on another try, resulting in a 20-0 lead for the Polar Bears, a margin which they would maintain for the duration of the match.
"We've been working on applying defensive pressure at practice, so it was nice to see it executed in the game," said Mathews.
Despite the unfavorable conditions, Mathews said, "the forwards were very mobile this game and did a good job of getting to the rucks, while the backs made their tackles and had some good runs when we found open space."