Thanks to a goal by Stephanie Ludy '13 with 21 seconds left in overtime, the women's hockey team is heading to the NESCAC semifinals for the third year in a row.
The third-ranked Polar Bears will play second-seeded Amherst tomorrow after a 3-2 victory over Williams last Saturday.
Goalkeeper Kayla Lessard '13 stopped 24 pucks during regulation time to help force the crucial overtime period, and then had 14 more saves in the extra time.
Against the Ephs, Kayte Holtz '13 scored twice—once off a power play—and assisted Ludy with the game-winning goal. Kim Tess-Wanat '13 and Kendra Sweet '12 each collected one assist in the game, while Chelsea MacNeil '15 had two.
Due to her efforts, Holtz was named NESCAC Player of the Week for the third time this season, and was named to the All-NESCAC First Team after finishing the regular season with a conference-leading 32 points.
In the week leading up to the NESCAC quarterfinal game, Bowdoin analyzed old game film to reacquaint itself with Williams's physical and aggressive style of play. The Polar Bears beat the Ephs 4-2 and 3-0 in their previous matchups this season.
According to captain Shelagh Merrill '12, one of the key elements of Bowdoin's previous series with Williams was the team's power play unit.
"One thing that really helped with the video was that the power play units were able to see how aggressive Williams's penalty kill actually was during the games we played them," Merrill said. "We focused a lot of puck movement and that paid off with a power play goal."
The power play contributed to Bowdoin's quarterfinal win, as the Polar Bears went 1-for-4 with the extra player. Williams fared slightly better, going 1-for-3.
The four remaining teams will play the semifinals and championship game of the NESCAC tournament at Middlebury, the home of the top-ranked team, this weekend. Bowdoin takes the ice tomorrow against Amherst at 4 p.m.
Merrill is confident that her team will bear down with its offense to counter Amherst's strength.
"Amherst is a really good defensive team, so I think that one point of emphasis will be pressuring them hard in the offensive zone and putting every puck on net," she said.