Mettler Growney scored with less than two minutes remaining in regulation to lift the Bowdoin College field hockey team to a 1-0 victory over visiting Trinity on Saturday afternoon.
The Polar Bears (9-1, 5-1 New England Small College Athletic Conference) entered the day in a four-way tie with the Bantams (8-2, 4-2 NESCAC), Middlebury, and Tufts for first in the conference standings.
Kelcie Finn broke away down the middle of the field to account for Trinity’s first shot of the game. Finn forced a one-on-one with Bowdoin keeper Clara Belitz, who came out and met Finn with a slide tackle to stifle the threat.
With 10 minutes remaining in the first half, Trinity earned its first corner. The initial shot by Finn from the top was deflected up and over Belitz, but Elizabeth Bennewitz’s defensive save preserved the tie.
Bowdoin broke through the Bantams defense with under two minutes to play. On the team’s 14th penalty corner, Growney collected a rebound off the right post and found the back of the net for the game-winner.
Bowdoin held a 14-1 edge in corners and 23-2 shot advantage. Berger made 11 saves in net for the Bantams and Belitz tallied one on the opposite side.
Bowdoin travels to Hamilton next Saturday for a noon contest.
Football
Tufts improved to 3-0 with a 41-21 NESCAC win over Bowdoin on Whittier Field Saturday afternoon.
The Polar Bears fell to 0-3.
The Jumbos jumped on top 10-0 in the first quarter, but Bowdoin answered when Nick Vallas returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown to get the Polar Bears to 10-7 heading to the second quarter.
But, Tufts scored two quick touchdowns — a 5-yard run by Chance Brady and a 17-yard pass from Ryan McDonald to Joe Byrnes for a 24-7 lead.
Bowdoin found the end zone one more time in the first half as Nate Richam scored on an 11-yard TD run.
Leading 24-14, Tufts ran off the game’s next 17 points before Bowdoin closed out the scoring on a Bryan Porter 13- yard TD pass from Noah Nelson.
Alex Snyder, McDonald and Ryan Hagfeldt played quarterback for Tufts, combining to 15-of-21 for 246 yards. McDonald rushed for 146 yards on 11 carries.
Nelson was 21-of-45 in the air for 223 yards for Bowdoin, with Richam leading the Polar Bears on the ground with 41 yards on 11 carries. Vallas caught six passes for 94 yards.
Joe Gowetski led Bowdoin with nine solo tackles, with Henry Little and Andrew Joyce adding five each.
Bowdoin visits Hamilton on Saturday at noon.
Women’s soccer
Tricia Pollock scored an unassisted goal in the 16th minute to lead Trinity to a 1-0 NESCAC win over Bowdoin in Brunswick on Saturday.
The Polar Bears outshot the Bantams, 11-7, and held a 6-0 edge in corner kicks. But, Trinity keeper Julia Pitino had six saves for the shutout as the Bantams improved to 7- 1-2 overall, 5-1 in the NESCAC.
Bowdoin goaltender Rachel Strout turned aside two shots, while Emma Beane led the Polar Bears with two shots on goal.
The Polar Bears return to action on Saturday with an 11 a.m. contest against Hamilton on the road.
Women’s volleyball
Middlebury ran its winning streak to eight games with a 3- 0 NESCAC victory over Bowdoin on Friday evening.
The Panthers improved to 11-3 (4-1 NESCAC), while Bowdoin fell to 8-5 (2-4 NESCAC).
Despite the sweep, Bowdoin kept it close in all three sets, falling 25-21, 25-23, 25-22. Bowdoin was paced by Caroline Flaharty’s match-high 14 kills, while Erika Sklaver and Michelle Albright each tacked on seven. Katie Doherty led the Polar Bears with 20 digs, while Quincy Leech tallied a match-best 32 assists to go along with 13 digs.
Sklaver and Clare Geyer posted three block assists apiece.
Bowdoin rebounded with a 3-0 NESCAC victory over Hamilton on Saturday.
The Polar Bears improved to 9-5 (3-4 NESCAC). Hamilton dropped to 6-6 (2-4 NESCAC) with the defeat.
Bowdoin took the victory by set scores of 25-16, 27-25, 25- 19.
For the second straight day, Flaharty was outstanding, racking up a match-best 16 kills against just three errors while adding 20 digs for the Polar Bears. Leech dished out 36 assists and had 10 digs, while Albright added eight kills and 11 digs
Defensively Doherty totaled 26 digs, while Sklaver racked up eight blocks.
Bowdoin hosts Colby on Friday at 7 p.m.
Women’s rugby
The University of New England edged Bowdoin, 31-15 in a match between Maine’s two varsity rugby squads on Friday afternoon at Pickard Field.
The Polar Bears lost their first match of the year and fell to 2-1. UNE is 4-1.
UNE supplied hard running line breaks by center Zoe Adams and the team moved the ball wide to their speed on the wing for two tries in the first half. Bowdoin’s forward pack dominated the scrums but struggled to maintain possession. The young team worked hard throughout the match and out-rucked UNE on several occasions, yet aside from some outstanding individual efforts and tackles, they were unable to mount the consistent defensive pressure needed to force mistakes or to effectively launch a multiphase attack.
With UNE up 12-0, a midfield scrum early in the first half saw Paige Pfannenstiel peel off the scrum, break through defenders and feed Georgia Bolduc who raced the final 15 meters to score Bowdoin’s first try, closing the gap at 12-5.
Later in the first half, Pfannenstiel picked up a loose ball from a ruck and ran down the left sideline, shrugging off a tackler and closing in for the try.
To counter UNE’s speed on the wing, Bowdoin adjusted by moving sprinter Georgia Bolduc to the outside backline. Juliette Dankens moved to the scrum-half position, where she performed very well, distributing the ball, and making several key tackles and clear outs. She scored a smart pick-and-go try of her own off the base of a 5-meter scrum in the second half after a Pamela Zabala scoring attempt was held up.
Bowdoin rucked well and maintained more possession during the second half but was unable to capitalize with the exception of Danken’s quick, heads-up score.
Bowdoin was led defensively by Cristina Lima, Liz D’Angelo, Bolduc and Pfannenstiel.
Bowdoin will return to action this upcoming Saturday with a pair of home contests against Castleton and Middlebury.
Men’s soccer
On Saturday in Brunswick, Henry Farr put away a Trinity game-winner in double overtime to give the Bantams a 1-0 victory over Bowdoin.
The Bantams left Brunswick 6-4 and 3-4 in conference play.
Domenic Quade had six saves in goal for Trinity, while Bowdoin’s Stevie Van Siclen and Noah Safrian combined on four saves.
Bowdoin bounced back quickly in capturing a 2-0 NESCAC win over Colby on Sunday.
The Polar Bears improved to 6-3-2 (2-3-1 NESCAC), while dropping the Mules to 3-6-2 (1-4- 2 NESCAC).
Bowdoin outshot Colby by a 19-4 margin in the first half, forcing Avery Gibson to make six saves, but the Polar Bears were unable to break through in the opening 45 minutes.
Jake Stenquist scored the first goal 8:51 into the second half. Riley Bubb ripped a shot from the top of the 18 and Stenquist tipped the shot on the far right post to give Bowdoin the 1-0 lead.
The Polar Bears doubled their total in the 62nd minute off a solo shot by Matt Dias Costa. Just inside the box, Dias Costa shot from the left side and went low and away to the opposite post.
Gibson ended the day with 10 saves, while Noah Safian made six on the opposite side for Bowdoin.
Bowdoin returns to the pitch with two games this upcoming weekend, visiting Hamilton on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and heading to Williams on Sunday at noon.
Men’s golf
Bowdoin won the CBB (Colby-Bates-Bowdoin) Championship for the first time since 2013 on Saturday at Brunswick Golf Club.
The Polar Bears totaled a team score of 394 to easily defeat Bates (415) and Colby (426) for the crown.
Thomas Spagnola led the way for Bowdoin with a 75, while Thomas Dunleavy carded a 77. Martin Bernard was the third-best score for the Polar Bears with a 78.
Bowdoin returns to the course on Sunday and Monday with its final tournament of the fall season, the Southern Maine Invitational at Gorham Country Club.
Women’s golf
Bowdoin closed out its season with a fifth-place finish at the 2016 NESCAC Championship played at Ralph Myhre Golf Course on the campus of Middlebury College last weekend.
The Polar Bears carded a two-day total of 710 at the event, vastly improving over last year’s team score of 764 at the championship.
Williams took the crown with a two-day score of 629.
Caroline Farber capped a sensational rookie campaign with a 78 on day two of the tournament, rising to a two-day score of 160 to finish in a tie of seventh place.
Meredith Sullivan and Emme McCabe ended in a tie for 22nd with matching 183 two-day totals. Diya Chopra (185) ended in 24th, with Haley Freisch (186) right behind in 26th.
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