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Volume CXXXI, Number 24 |
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Walter leads lax past Bobcats
HENRY COPPOLA
ORIENT STAFF
Senior co-captain Hunter Walter scored four times and added
five assists on Sunday to lead the Polar Bears past the Bates Bobcats
14-10, in NESCAC first-round action. Bowdoin exacted a measure of revenge
for its loss to Bates earlier in the season.
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| Senior Hunter Walter, NESCAC player of the week. (Henry Coppola, Bowdoin Orient) |
There would be no déjà vu for Bowdoin on Sunday,
as the Bears fought off the rain as well as a late rally from Bates. Bates
took an early 1-0 lead at the 13:41 mark before the Bears scored two quick
goals to grab the lead.
The Bobcats managed to even the contest at two towards the end of the
first quarter, it would prove to be the final tie of the game. Walter
netted his first goal late in the period to put Bowdoin back on top; goalie
P.J. Prest '02 kept the score 3-2 as the quarter ended with two spectacular
saves.
Walter picked up where he left off to start the second with
a one-timer past the Bates netminder. Bowdoin would end up scoring a total
of five unanswered goals, four of them by Walter, to take a commanding
7-2 lead.
Bates finally got back on the board with 6:28 left in the
second quarter as they turned a defensive misplay into a 3-on-1 opportunity.
Micah Moreau '03 would add his second goal of the afternoon just before
halftime to give Bowdoin an 8-3 lead at the break. Both teams would score
three times in a back-and-forth third quarter.
The final frame opened with Bowdoin holding an 11-6 advantage.
Bates made the game interesting before succumbing to the Polar Bears.
At the ten-minute mark, the Bobcats had scored three times to climb within
two goals at 11-9. The Bears shook off the Bates rally, however, with
three late goals of their own, making the final score 14-10.
The win over Bates came on the heels of Bowdoin's final
regular season game, a 10-8 defeat of Trinity in Hartford. That win was
essentially a tune-up for the Bears, who had already clinched the number
two seed in the NESCAC playoffs.
The defeat of Trinity was part of a 3-0 week for the Bears,
beginning with a victory over Colby and capped with the playoff win over
Bates. Walter, with eight goals and six assists over the three games,
was named the NESCAC Player of the Week.
The Polar Bears will travel to Middlebury this weekend for
the NESCAC Final Four. Bowdoin will face number three seed and traditional
rival Colby at 3:00 pm on Saturday.
Tournament host Middlebury will play fourth seeded Amherst
in the early game at noon. Sunday afternoon the semifinal winners will
square off in the championship game, with an automatic bid to the NCAA's
at stake. The NESCAC has made a change in policy this season and will
allow teams to accept at-large bids to the NCAA's.
The Polar Bears, last year's ECAC Champions, will be looking to claim the auto-bid this weekend with their second victory over Middlebury this season. It will be a hard-fought weekend of great lacrosse as some of the best teams in the country go up against each other.