Ellery Gould '12 scored her ninth goal of the season, but it wasn't enough to propel the Polar Bears past Wheaton College. The team battled to a 1-1 draw Tuesday versus the Lyons who were then ranked No. 5 in New England by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). Wheaton moves to 11-2-2 for the season, and Bowdoin is now 5-3-2 overall (2-3-1 in the NESCAC).
The Polar Bears got things started midway through the first half. Senior captain Christina Aceto's serve deep into the box found two Lyons, but after a failed clear Gould was able to gain possession. Gould launched a shot into the back of the net, scoring in her sixth consecutive game of the season and upping her career total to 29.
Wheaton responded 12 minutes into the second half with a goal from first year Joy-Marie Fernandes. Wheaton continued to be aggressive offensively as they held a 10-5 advantage in shots during the second half. While both teams had multiple chances to clinch the victory, neither team was able to convert after two overtimes.
"We played with a lot of heart against Wheaton, and we were very proud of our performance. They have a very strong program, and it was a good result for us on the road," said senior captain Molly Duffy.
Both teams' goalkeepers made key saves during the contest. Lyon keeper Erin Cawley turned away an attempted header off a corner kick in the 84th minute and finished the game with seven saves. Senior captain Kat Flaherty recorded 10 saves to preserve the tie.
Last Saturday afternoon, the Polar Bears were stunned by a second half-rally by Wesleyan, which earned its first conference win of the season.
Bowdoin got off to a quick start as Gould scored just 2:48 into the game. Shortly thereafter, Aceto picked up her first goal of the season at 30:51 to give the Bears a 2-0 lead.
Wesleyan received a boost from sophomore Laura Kurash who found the back of the net at 38:39 to make it a 2-1 game heading into the second half.
Kurash continued the offensive attack in the second half as her pass to teammate Barrie Lindsay resulted in a goal a mere 26 seconds into the second half. Just over three minutes later, Kurash scored the game-winner off a pass from Kerry Doyle.
Bowdoin keeper Flaherty recorded nine saves for the Bears as Cardinal keeper Kate Connolly-Smithwick earned a pair. The Cardinals held a 17-10 advantage in shots.
The Polar Bears were victorious throughout homecoming weekending, defeating Connecticut College 3-1 on Saturday and blanking Maine-Farmington 4-0 the following day.
The team has four contests remaining this season, three of which are key conference matchups.
"We realize how important the final three NESCAC games are, and because the conference standings are so close right now, the results of these games will greatly affect our final rank," said Gould. "We are feeling confident going into these games and plan to bring a lot of what we did well at the Wheaton game—especially our focus, composure and fight."
The Polar Bears return to action this weekend as they travel to Williams (3-2-1 NESCAC, 7-3-1 overall). The Ephs are coming off a big win last weekend when they handed Trinity its first loss of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.