Women's lacrosse tops Polar Bears in OT

Author: Sarah Poling Luehrman

The Bowdoin Polar Bears walked onto their home field no doubt still smarting from last year's 7-9 loss against Middlebury in the NESCAC semifinal. During that game almost a year ago, the Panthers pulled ahead midway through the first half and never let Bowdoin catch all the way up, but they never shook them, either. This time, the Polar Bears were determined to close that margin, and they walked onto the field knowing that they were going to make the Panthers fight for this game.

The good news for Bowdoin was that they did indeed close that margin - in fact, they forced Middlebury into double overtime before the Panthers emerged victorious, 12-11, thanks to a beautiful free-position goal from Schuyler Winstead '06. The Polar Bears gave the Panthers one of their toughest games of the season and certainly showed them their closest margin of victory thus far. "It's games like these," said Captain Johanna Rosenfield '05, "that test us in truly adverse situations, and although an easier win is a bit less of a stress-inducer, the game is most definitely character building."

Watching the scoreboard during the first half of the game, onlookers familiar with the Panthers might have seen another Bates game or another Tufts game: early lead, easy win. The players on the field, however, experienced something a little different. Bowdoin attacker Kate Donoghue scored on Rosenfield three minutes in, but Kim Walker '07 wasted no time in taking possession and scoring unassisted on Bowdoin goalkeeper Kendall Cox to tie the score at 1-1. In the next two minutes of the game, both Channing Weymouth '06 and Claire Edelen '07 scored on Cox, who would earn six consecutive Middlebury goals before the end of the half. Only after Elizabeth Renehan '06 rifled one past her and Walker and Weymouth each scored a second time did Bowdoin manage one more goal two seconds before the whistle blew to signal the end of the half. The score stood 6-2; elsewhere, the team might have considered the game safely in their hands, but this was Bowdoin. "We did not secure the scoring margin we would have liked," says Rosenfield. The team knew that four goals was a slim lead at best in this matchup, and they knew that they would have to get out there and defend it.

Bowdoin came back and gave Middlebury the fight that they knew they had coming. "They came back hungry for goals," Rosenfield said, and frequently scored "off beautiful fast breaks, plays that are harder for us to stop and we frequently found ourselves in man down situations." For the first 10 minutes or so of the half, Middlebury matched them goal for goal. Walker scored her third goal of the game, answered by a Bowdoin goal mere moments later. Edelen scored once more before the Polar Bears scored three times consecutively. As the clock ticked closer to the end of the game, rarely did three minutes go by without at least one goal. It was a game for the gritty, and Bowdoin was slowly climbing back up to even out with Middlebury. With ten minutes left in the half, after a goal from Michele Bergofsky, a three goal streak from Bowdoin evened the score to 9-9. Winstead and Edelen sank a pair of goals to bring the score to 11-9, and the Polar Bears were left with less than four minutes to pull ahead of the Panthers. They used every second, scoring their 10th goal only a minute later and placing that crucial 11th tying goal in Rosenfield's top left corner with only three seconds left on the clock as the field held its breath.

The first overtime passed, and neither side scored. Middlebury's first double overtime commenced and Winstead faked out the Bowdoin goalkeeper to score her winning goal 45 seconds in. The Panthers had finally gotten the lead back, and the defense did the rest. The game ended after 66 minutes of tight, hard playing and left the Polar Bears denied yet again.

The Panthers' defense had a tough job throughout the game against Bowdoin's strong attackers, but they did it well. Captain Caitlin McCormick '05 in particular "played a smart, heads up game and really set the tone for our team with her composure and poise," said Head Coach Missy Foote. McCormick led the team with three ground balls and six caused turnovers, contributing essential leadership to the defensive squad. Rosenfield made10 saves for Middlebury, playing one of her best games thus far this season. The offense deserves as much recognition; a team with six different players consistently scoring, as was the case in this game, "makes us so hard to defend," says Foote.

The Panthers, now 8-1 for the season and undefeated in the league, may have another fight ahead of them this weekend on Kohn Field when the Lord Jeffs come to town. Next week, Middlebury will face Williams, 7-3 for the season and 2-3 in NESCAC, and then Trinity, 8-4 for the season and 2-4 in NESCAC. "Our offensive plays, our man to man defense, our stall, our zone defense are all getting better and better," says Foote. "We hope to continue to improve."