MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — The Bowdoin College field hockey team opened the 2014 season with a 3-0 shutout win over Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon in the Polar Bears’ New England Small College Athletic Conference opener.

The top-ranked Polar Bears begin the season with a 1-0 (1-0 NESCAC) mark, as Wesleyan dropped to 1-1 overall and 0-1 in NESCAC play. Bowdoin improved to 29-9 all-time against the Cardinals.

Alexa Baumgartner put Bowdoin on the board only 2:55 into the contest. Inserting on the corner, Kimmy Ganong connected with Baumgartner on the circle. She ripped a straight shot to the opposite corner for the Polar Bears’ first goal of the season.

Bowdoin scored on another corner opportunity in the 13th minute, with Colleen Finnerty driving home a shot from the top of the circle.

The Polar Bears allowed only two shots in the opening half, with neither making it through to Bowdoin goalie Hannah Gartner. Bowdoin had 11 shots in the opening half.

Bowdoin tacked on one final goal in the second half, coming off the stick of Rachel Kennedy, who received the ball from Finnerty before making a quick move to beat her defender and place a hard shot into the corner of Wesleyan’s net.

Bowdoin outshot the Cardinals 19-5. Wesleyan goalie Sara Grundy stopped five shots, while Gartner made two saves for the Polar Bears. Bowdoin held an 8-3 edge in penalty corners.

The Polar Bears return to Brunswick for their home debut on Saturday against Amherst, with the game beginning at 11 a.m.

Women’s soccer

Abby Hammerl secured the first win of the season for Bowdoin with the gamewinning goal in double-overtime to defeat Wesleyan, 2-1, Saturday afternoon in NESCAC play.

The Polar Bears open the season 1-0-0 (1-0-0 NESCAC) for the fourth consecutive year, as the Cardinals dropped to 0-1-1 (0-1-0 NESCAC). Bowdoin maintains its series lead over Wesleyan, improving to 29-6- 3 all-time with its third straight victory over the Cardinals.

Wesleyan took the quick 1- 0 lead at 4:56 off a goal by Marisa Yang. Madeline Keene dished a centering pass to Katy Hardt at the top, who passed back to the left side where Yang sat six yards out from the goal.

Despite the Polar Bears outshooting Wesleyan 13-3 in the opening half, the Cardinals maintained their lead into the break.

Amanda Kinneston was finally able to break through Wesleyan keeper Jessica Tollman in the 66th minute of play. Taylor Haist executed a pin-point pass, which allowed Kinneston to unload a shot from 16-yards out.

The Polar Bears continued to control the pace of play, but it took overtime for Bowdoin to finally secure the victory.

Bowdoin had several chances to end the game in the first overtime period, including a look by Kinneston in the final seconds. With time winding down, Kinneston drew the goalie out to left side and chipped the ball over her head at an open net. Tollman capitalized on her inside line to win the footrace and smother the loose ball, squelching Bowdoin’s final scoring opportunity of the overtime period.

Wesleyan appeared to regain momentum in the opening minutes of the second overtime, coming close to ending the game with a corner kick from the left side. Keane went up for a header on the opposite post and barely missed wide right.

Bowdoin ended the game on a similar play at the opposite end. Set up for a corner kick on the left side, Maggie Godley lofted the ball into play, with Hammerl heading the ball to the near left post for the win.

Tollman collected 13 saves in net for the Cardinals, as the Polar Bears outshot the home team 26-8.

Bowdoin returns to action with its home opener on Saturday against Amherst at noon.

Men’s soccer

Wesleyan tallied a late goal to take the 2-1 win over Bowdoin on Saturday afternoon to open conference play.

The Polar Bears (1-1-0, 0-1- 0 NESCAC) dropped their first game of NESCAC action after opening the season with win over Endicott on Wednesday afternoon. The Cardinals improved to 2-0-0 (1-0-0 NESCAC) and collected their fourth consecutive win over the Polar Bears dating back to 2011.

Bowdoin and Wesleyan opened the game with 30 scoreless minutes of play before Adrian Reifsnyder broke the stalemate and put the Cardinals ahead 1-0. Stealing the ball from the Bowdoin defense, Reifsnyder snuck past Bowdoin goalie Noah Safian to earn an open shot on net to put Wesleyan on top. The Polar Bears were outshot by a slim 4-3 margin in the opening half.

Sam White wasted little time in the second half before putting Bowdoin on the scoreboard and knotting the game at 1-1. Just 7:04 into the frame, White connected following a pass off the foot of Daniel Melong following a setup from Andrew Jones.

The score remained tied until just seven minutes were left on the clock. Adam Cowie-Haskell chipped a quick pass to Chris Kafina from the top of the box, with Kafina’s one-hopper beating Safian to find the net.

The Cardinals outshot the Polar Bears 10-8, with Emmett McConnell tallying five saves for Wesleyan. Safian made a pair of saves for Bowdoin.

The Polar Bears return home this upcoming Saturday for a noon contest against Amherst.

Women’s volleyball

Bowdoin opened its season in impressive fashion, claiming a pair of 3-0 wins at the Endicott Invitational on Friday evening.

The Polar Bears (2-0) easily triumphed over Plymouth State (25-20, 25-16, 25-19) before holding off a late push to defeat Roger Williams (25-20, 25-16, 31-29).

In the opener against Plymouth, Erika Sklaver led the way with eight kills for the Polar Bears. Katie Doherty and Hailey Wahl had four aces apiece, while Quincy Leech dealt out 25 assists. Defensively, Christy Jewett had 17 digs in the victory.

Against Roger Williams, Sklaver put home 11 digs and had six blocks. Jewett collected 11 kills for the Polar Bears, while Leech sparked the attack with 20 assists and 18 digs. Wahl had three more aces.