Volume CXXXIII, Number 6 October 19, 2001 f

An excellent October for women's soccer
J.P. HERNANDEZ
STAFF WRITER

Bowdoin stood at a tepid 3-2-1 mark at the beginning of October, a record including a difficult 1-0 loss to Middlebury and a scoreless tie with Amherst that frustrated the team. However, the women's soccer team has heated up this month, winning all but one of its seven October contests to improve its overall record to 9-4-1.

Senior Erin Finn-Welch beats a Conn player. (Colin LeCroy, Bowdoin Orient)

The women have defeated the University of Southern Maine, Trinity, Plymouth State, the University of New England, Connecticut College, and Bates. Their solitary loss was at the hands of Tufts. Over this seven-game period, Bowdoin has outscored its opponents by an impressive mark of 21-6.

In a non-league match last week, Bowdoin defeated the University of New England by a score of 2-0. The Bears were able to hold off any scoring threat from the opposition, and this flawless defensive play assisted Bowdoin's offensive work throughout the game.

The Bears struck early in the first half when sophomore Michal Shapiro fed Christina Woodward '05 for the game's first goal.

It was a first for both athletes: for Woodward, it was her first collegiate goal, and for Shapiro, her first assist of the season.

Hillary Smith '05 scored the second and final goal of the game, her third of the season, off of a pass from Cedar Goldman '05.

In returning to NESCAC action later in the week, Bowdoin tallied two decisive victories over Connecticut College and Bates. The two wins boosted the team's record to 4-3-1 (NESCAC), and the victory against Bates locked up a NESCAC tournament position for the Polar Bears.

The victory over Connecticut College was achieved by a 4-0 score, marking senior goalie Emily Rizza's sixth shutout this season. Jill Falwell '04 scored two of the team's goals, and Rachel Gordon '05 and Smith provided the two others.
In a 3-1 defeat of Bates later in the week, Smith and Gordon each picked up another goal apiece. Alison Lavoie '02 was the other scorer in the team's winning effort.

Falwell, a forward and the team's leading scorer, offered that the team's October success was part of a plan. "Playing well in October has been a big goal for our team," she said. "We have really focused on stepping it up in the latter part of the season.

"We're psyched about how we have played, and we're now concentrating on beating Colby and progressing deep into the tournament," she added.
Falwell also mentioned that Bowdoin has never lost to Colby, and the team is looking forward to sustaining that flawless record tomorrow, in Waterville, at 11:30a.m.

The women will not waste any time in getting to post-season action, facing an undetermined opponent in a game to be played at Bates on Sunday.