Field hockey advanced to the NCAA Division III semifinal after two victories last weekend, a 4-0 shutout against Mount Holyoke and come-from-behind, overtime win against Skidmore in the quarterfinal. The team hopes to defend its 2013 title at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. The Polar Bears will face top-ranked Salisbury University tomorrow in a rematch of last year’s national championship game, while second-ranked Middlebury College will meet The College of New Jersey in the other semifinal.
With the quarterfinal against Skidmore knotted 1-1 in sudden-death overtime last Sunday, Rachel Kennedy ’16 charged down the middle of the field with nobody between her and the Skidmore net. She burst into the circle, veered right around the diving goalkeeper, and slid the ball into the net, sending Bowdoin into the semifinals and the Ryan Field crowd into frenzied celebrations.
The Polar Bears had always expected that their opponents last weekend would be tough.
“[The teams] who qualify for the NCAA Tournament are always very strong,” said Adrienne O’Donnell ’15. “We knew both of the teams would be tough, but we tried to concentrate on our games rather than focusing on theirs. I think our strategy works really well.”
In Saturday’s game against Mount Holyoke, captain Colleen Finnerty ’15 scored just two minutes into the contest, taking advantage of the Polar Bears’ first penalty corner to score her seventh goal of the season. Kimmy Ganong ’17 fed the ball to Kim Kahnweiler ’16, whose clean stop allowed Finnerty to lace a shot that hit off the pad of Lyons goalie Liz DiCesare and went straight into the cage.
Twenty nine minutes into the game, Ganong put the Polar Bears up 2-0 off a feed from Kennedy. Twenty minutes later Kennedy blasted her own shot past the reach of DiCesare, assisted by Liz Znamierowski ’16. O’Donnell closed out the scoring by converting a pass from Mettler Growney ’17.
The next day, Bowdoin played against Skidmore in a tense overtime game.
“Skidmore is an exceptional team,” said Head Coach Nicky Pearson. “In the last game, their goalkeeper and defenders played very well. So did their two forwards, who were immensely dynamic and excellent goal scorers.”
Skidmore scored a goal five minutes into the game when Dani DeGregory rifled a shot past Bowdoin goalie Hannah Gartner ’15. Fifteen minutes later, Skidmore’s Seeley Francher nearly doubled the Thoroughbreds’ lead. She squeezed a shot around a diving Gartner, but first-year Meredith Tibbals ’18 was on the goal line to knock the ball away.
The Polar Bears had a number of chances at the end of the first half, including a shot from Finnerty that hit the post, but they were unable to find an equalizer. Their frustrations continued into the second half. Less than five minutes after play resumed, Skidmore’s goalkeeper just managed to stop a shot with her foot, and 15 seconds after that, a pass barely eluded captain Pam Herter ’15, who would have had the ball in front of an open net.
Bowdoin finally found a goal with 13:36 remaining in the second half. Herter won a footrace down the left side of the field, rounded a Skidmore defender near the end line and passed to Kennedy, who one-timed it for the goal. The Polar Bears almost added a go-ahead goal a few minutes later when Kennedy burst through the center and laid the ball out for O’Donnell, whose shot was stopped by the onrushing Skidmore goalkeeper.
Skidmore almost netted a winner off a corner with less than four minutes remaining, firing a shot past Gartner. Luckily for the Polar Bears, Finnerty was in position on the goal line and swatted the shot away before letting out a celebratory roar.
Deadlocked at 1-1, the teams headed into a fifteen-minute, sudden-death overtime. Bowdoin wasted no time with its aggression, earning a penalty corner just one minute into play. But, O’Donnell’s shot from the corner clanked off the post, and Skidmore took the ball and pushed down the field, earning six consecutive penalty corners .
Kahnweiler was injured on the second corner and came off the field, but returned a minute later to help the Polar Bears fend off the Thoroughbreds’ onslaught. Gartner successfully drove away each of Skidmore’s shots during a tense, five-minute flurry of attacks.
“Our defensive group did an exceptional job of denying them all scoring chances,” said Pearson. “They allowed us to turn the tide in the end.”
When Bowdoin regained possession after defending the sixth corner, Finnerty connected on a pass to Kennedy, who was all alone at midfield and sprinted downfield to score the dramatic game winner.
“It was an exciting moment for all of us,” said Finnerty. “That was my last game on the home field, and the goal is something I will remember forever. Senior players always talk about going out with a bang, and we definitely did.”
Tomorrow, the defending national champions will play Salisbury in their eighth Final Four in the last 10 years.
“We have a lot of respect for Salisbury,” said Finnerty. “At the same time, I think the game will come down to who wants the victory more, and quite frankly, I believe Bowdoin does.”