Following a shutout defeat 4-0 at home last Friday night against Trinity, the Lady Polar Bears returned Saturday to deliver their own shutout 8-0 against the hapless Wesleyan Cardinals.
The weekend split left Bowdoin tied with Williams at 10-10-2 (7-6-1 NESCAC) for the No. 4 seed in the NESCAC championship with two games to play, including a weekend trip to Williamstown to face the Ephs.
Sunday's 8-0 victory proved to be a pleasant final send off for the Polar Bear seniors, who played their final regular season home game at Sidney J. Watson Arena.
On Senior Day, seniors Shana Natelson, Katherine Pokrass, Kelly Keebler and Maria Nicolais all contributed to the Polar Bears' domination of Wesleyan (4-16-1; 2-12-0 NESCAC).
Nicolais put in the game's first goal early on in the first period. Natelson then provided the assist on first year Kayte Holtz's first-period zinger to increase Bowdoin's lead to 2-0.
Eight minutes into the second period, back-to-back goals by Holtz and junior Jill Campbell pushed the Polar Bears to an insurmountable 4-0 lead.
Sophomores Shelagh Merrill and Katie Herter teamed up to double the lead from there, each adding two goals before the final buzzer.
Keebler sealed the win in goal with a perfect twenty minutes, blocking four shots, in relief of sophomore goalie Sage Santangelo, who provided the first two scoreless periods, while blocking seven Cardinal shots.
The loss further cemented the Cardinals' position at the bottom of the NESCAC rankings, ensuring a fight for the final seed between Wesleyan and Colby (3-14-5; 1-10-3 NESCAC).
The Senior Day victory took some of the sting out of the 4-0 loss to Trinity (17-3-2; 9-3-2 NESCAC) the night before. The Bantams woke up from a lethargic first period to score two goals, both assisted by NESCAC Player of the Week Dom Di Dia. Trinity's 2-0 lead after two periods seemed to seal it with twenty minutes to go.
The Polar Bears are winless this season when trailing after two periods in conference play. This game proved no different, as Trinity escalated their lead with another goal less than 30 seconds into the third period from Celia Colman McGaw and further iced the game with three minutes left on Laura Komarek's goal.
Trinity won for the third time this season against the Polar Bears and Trinity goalie Isabel Iwachiw got her sixth shutout of the season. Trinity sits in the third spot in the NESCAC rankings, with two games remaining at home against Connecticut College and Hamilton.
The Bowdoin women, meanwhile, sit in a promising but precarious position with two games to play this weekend. They will travel first to play Middlebury (10-3-1; 14-5-3 NESCAC) today. After that, they will travel to Williams on Saturday for a game that could decide who will host whom for the quarterfinals of the NESCAC championship on February 27.