BRUNSWICK — In a game of runs, Bowdoin made sure it had the last one, rallying from a three-goal deficit with 11 minutes to play, the Polar Bears score five unanswered goals, blanking Trinity in the final 14 minutes for a 17-15 victory in women’s lacrosse action Saturday at Ryan Field.

Bowdoin’s Sophia WIlder (15) moves past Trinity’s Ashley Turnbull during the first half of Saturday’s women’s lacrosse game at Ryan Field at Bowdoin College. (Eric Maxim / The Times Record)

The win bumps the Polar Bears, ranked 18th in the division three Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll to 4-4 (2-3 NESCAC), while the ninth-ranked Bantams fell to 6-2 (2-2 NESCAC).

Bowdoin’s Eliza Denious scored seven goals to pace the Polar Bears. The sophomore has 23 goals and 12 assists on the young season.

“She started the season a little bit sick, so she’s coming back into her full strength,” Bowdoin coach Liz Grote said. “She’s definitely finding it, shooting low and getting it done.”

The win did not come easy for the Polar Bears, as the Bantams jumped on the hosts early. Trinity netted four goals in the first six minutes, racing out to a 4-0 lead.

Denious put the Polar Bears on the scoreboard off a helper from Allison Williams at the 18:27 mark. Katie Miller pushed across a goal with 11 minutes remaining in the half to cut the deficit to two, 5-3.

The two teams traded goals before Miller registered her second goal of the half with 30 ticks on the clock for a 7-7 game at the break.

Bowdoin held a slight advantage in shots at the break, 16-14, while trailing the Bantams in draw controls, 9-7. The teams were relatively even in turnovers as Trinity turned it over 11 times to Bowdoin’s 10 in the first 30 minutes.

Second half excitement

Bowdoin immediately put a score on the board, when Denious tallied her third goal of the game just 39 seconds into the half off an assist from Fiona Bundy giving the Polar Bears their first lead of the afternoon.

Trinity answered with three unanswered goals to re-take the lead, 10-8.  Another three-goal surge later in the period to take a 14-11 advantage and

Bowdoin’s Elizabeth Growney center, rolls a shot past Trinity’s Anna Costello (26) and keeper Gabriella Young for a Bowdoin goal Saturday at Ryan Field (Eric Maxim / The Times Record)

maintained a 15-12 lead following an Ellie Kirkpatrick goal with 14:26 to go.

After Denious’ next score off a Kara Finnerty assist at 11:03 to make it 15-13, Bowdoin replaced Erin Morrissey in net (four saves on 19 shots faced) with Aaliyah Biondo.

Like a switch being turned on, the Polar Bears began another run, led by Millers’s nine second-half draw controls and Denious finding the back of the net at 10:29, with Finnerty following at 9:55, each unassisted, to tie the score at 15-15.

“The biggest thing for us was possession, the draw controls are huge for us,” Denious said. “Katie was unbelievable on the draw controls, then just really being patient on the attack, moving it around, finding open players, not rushing it, taking advantage of the time. I think we did that well today and found the back of the net.”

Following a save by Biondo, her second since entering the game, Bowdoin took the lead for good with four minutes to go when Finnerty found Denious for a goal that gave the hosts a 16-15 edge.

“We’ve made some changes in goal in-game during this season, at times I think that gives a little shift in momentum. It’s nice to have two goalies that can contribute,” Grote said.

After a draw control win by Denious, the sophomore midfielder gave the Polar Bears some much-needed insurance, scoring off a feed from Miller at 3:28 to seal the win for Bowdoin.

“They run a zone defense so it was about finding the holes, sliding through looking to find opportunities,” Denious said.

“We hadn’t played against a defense like that this season, they’re a good team and they’re defense is solid and we found some holes today,” Miller said. “Speed off the draw, we all rely on each other and Eliza has that speed and that quickness in the middle and I think we caught them off guard today.”

Miller finished the day winning 11 draw controls for the hosts.

“It depends on the opponent,” Miller said of who takes the draw controls. “It’s always a team effort, today I had a good match up.”

“We have a lot of different draw options and when our team gets a feel for which one, they go with it,” Grote said.

Besides her career-high seven goals, the sophomore had six draw controls and two caused turnovers in the victory.  Finnerty had a goal and four assists while Bundy added three goals and two helpers

Bowdoin owned a 24-11 advantage in draw controls and held a 35-24 edge in shots for the game.

Bowdoin returns to action on Wednesday evening at Bates for a 7 p.m. contest.