After a disappointing home loss to Connecticut College last Wednesday, back-to-back victories have put the Polar Bears back on track as they travel to face Endicott College this Saturday.
"We're starting to hit our stride but we have to make sure we keep our focus on each individual game," sophomore midfielder Brendan Hughes said. "With only four more games left on the schedule, each and every game becomes that much more important."
In perhaps their best performance of the season, the Polar Bears did something no Bowdoin side had done in 16 years—win at Middlebury.
"It's such a long bus ride to get [to Middlebury] and they're always one of the toughest teams in the NESCAC, so we really wanted to make it count," sophomore goalie Chris Williamson said. "It's great to get that monkey off our back and prove we can play with anyone in this conference."
From the first faceoff, Bowdoin seemed in command as the team raced out to a 9-3 first half lead behind a number of superior one-on-one attack efforts. First year Billy Bergner and senior Steve Thomas led the way with a pair of goals each in the game's opening half.
Middlebury did its best to get back in the game, scoring early in the second-half to cut the Bowdoin lead to five, but the Polar Bears responded with one goal each from Keegan Mehlhorn '12 and George Negroponte '11.
Middlebury's attack was shut down most of the afternoon thanks to strong defense and excellent goalkeeping.
"[Williamson] played really well all day and really gave us confidence in knowing that if we did our jobs we would be successful," said sophomore defenseman Matthew Egan.
Williamson finished his day with an impressive ratio of 12 saves against 6 goals allowed and, most importantly, with another win next to his name.
In a quintessential team performance, Bowdoin had nine different scorers while playing a controlled, confident offense.
"We really focused on playing our game and not letting the place or the team we were up against dictate our actions," said attackman Nate Fritts '12. "It was a great win but we have to maintain that same level of play if we want to keep this success going."
The win evened Bowdoin's record at 5-5 (3-3 NESCAC) while Middlebury dropped to 5-3 overall (3-3 NESCAC).