Coming off of three straight wins over Wheaton, Amherst and the University of Southern Maine, the Polar Bears improved to 4-3 this season (2-1 NESCAC) to capture a 20th place ranking in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association D-III standings.
The team will look to continue this streak with a league game this Saturday at Connecticut College (2-3 overall, 0-3 NESCAC) and another league game on Wednesday at Colby (6-1 overall, 2-1 NESCAC).
"If we continue to go into games with the same mentality we've had, we will definitely give Conn., Colby, and Midd. a run," said senior captain Taylor McCormack. "I'm confident we can come out on top of each of our upcoming games."
Bowdoin began its win streak with a 16-7 win over Wheaton (2-4 overall), snapping a three-game losing streak.
The game stood tied at five until an offensive surge led to a halftime score of 10-5 in favor of the Polar Bears.
Bowdoin dominated the second half, scoring the first six goals, and creating an 11-point deficit.
The scoring effort was led by Katie Herter '12 with five goals, followed by three goals a piece from Celeste Swain '12 and Katie Stewart '12. First year goal keeper Tara Connolly made five saves and allowed five goals in 50 minutes of play for Bowdoin.
The Polar Bears held the edge in draw control (15-10) and shots (34-16). However, torrential rain throughout the game produced a game total of 52 turnovers between the teams.
The Polar Bears next faced the Lord Jeffs (4-2 overall, 2-1 NESCAC) at home.
Bowdoin secured a 3-2 halftime lead and then opened the second half with a run of six unanswered goals. Starting with a goal from junior Ingrid Oelschlager 20 seconds into the period, Bowdoin never looked back.
The Polar Bears kept up the pressure outshooting the Lord Jeffs 18-4 in the second half and forcing seven turnovers.
Stewart led the 11-3 Polar Bear win with three goals and an assist. Katy Dissinger '11, Liz Clegg '12 and Herter all had two goals as well. Additionally, the Polar Bears were backed up by phenomenal play in goal from Connolly. She made, saved and held Amherst to its lowest goal total since a 14-3 loss to Middlebury on April 5, 2008.
McCormack credited much of the success to the team's work ethic.
"Our hard work has definitely paid off over these past few games," she said. "We are really coming together as a team and are proving to be a big threat in the NESCAC. It's really exciting."
Stewart's impressive play during these two home wins led her to be named NESCAC Player of the Week.
She leads the Polar Bears with 15 points this season, 11 goals and four assists, as well as standing second in the league with 17 draw controls and sixth in turnovers with 10. She shares the NESCAC Player of the Week honors with Middlebury's Margaret Souther.
"We couldn't be more proud of Stewie for notching player of the week," said McCormack. "She's a hard worker and definitely deserves the honor."
Bowdoin completed its three-game win streak and marked its new 20th place national ranking with a 21-6 blowout of the University of Southern Maine (3-3 overall).
The scoring effort was spearheaded by hat tricks from Clegg, Caroline McNamara '12 and Chelsea Albright '12. Herter had two goals and an assist while Stewart and Carolyn Gorajek '12 each scored twice for Bowdoin. Connolly and Alexandra Brown '13, who made two saves, split halves in goal.
The win improves the Polar Bears to 12-0 all-time over the Huskies, and Bowdoin has averaged 21 goals per game over the last three years against them.
- Jim Reidy contributed to this report