Just like the spring weather, men's lacrosse is starting to get hot, as four straight victories have vaulted the Polar Bears back into contention for a top-three seed in this year's NESCAC tournament.
Bowdoin will look to continue its recent dominance when it hosts the Williams Ephs this Saturday.
"We're finding ways to win right now," said sophomore attackman Nate Fritts, "but if we're going to get to where we want to be we need to play even better."
The Polar Bears began their week with an out-of-conference clash with Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts.
After a scoreless first quarter saw Bowdoin fall behind 1-0, the Polar Bears scored three times in less than three minutes thanks to two assists and a goal from junior attackman, Russell Halliday.
Back-to-back goals from Endicott tied the game at 3 before Billy Bergner '13 and Adam Tracy '10 responded with a goal each to give Bowdoin the 5-3 halftime lead.
After exchanging a pair of goals in the period, Bowdoin pulled away on the shoulders of Bergner, who found the back of the net two more times, giving him four goals on the evening.
Kit Smith '11 put the game on ice with a late goal to give Bowdoin the 9-6 win.
Sophomore goalie Chris Williamson was sparkling in goal once again with 13 saves against six goals allowed.
"He's really been playing well lately and his consistency has given the rest of the team a lot of confidence," said sophomore defenseman Matthew Egan.
The team followed up that impressive showing with another closely contested battle with NESCAC opponent Bates this past Wednesday.
Under the lights of Howard F. Ryan field, the Polar Bears used a methodical attack to gain the 4-1 halftime lead.
After a Halliday goal put Bowdoin up 5-1, the Bobcats showed their resolve with two goals at the end of the third quarter to trim the lead to 5-3.
Tracy responded with his fourth goal of the evening to extend the Polar Bear lead to three in the game's final period, but Bates refused to lose quietly.
Taking advantage of a Bowdoin penalty, the Bobcats scored two goals within the span of six seconds to cut the lead to a single goal with just five minutes left to play.
Chris Williamson stopped 11 shots, but perhaps the biggest save came from the right post as a furious shot rocketed off the metal frame, keeping Bowdoin's lead at one.
"Bates played very well today but we didn't play as well as we could have," Williamson said. "We were a little lucky today but I think you need a few breaks to go your way if you're going to have a successful season."
The win improved Bowdoin's record to 7-5 (4-3 NESCAC) and put the Polar Bears in the middle of a four-team tie for third place in the NESCAC.