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Volume CXXXI, Number 24 |
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Colby downs lax in first round
HEATHER MacNEIL
STAFF WRITER
Despite their first round elimination in the playoffs, the Bears ended
the regular women's lacrosse season on a high note.
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| The women's lacrosse season ended last Sunday in Waterville. The Bears finished with a 10-5 record. (Karsten Moran, Bowdoin Orient) |
The Trinity College Bantams visited Farley Field last Saturday to face
the Bear women. The Bantams had squeezed a seventh-seed berth in the tourney,
while Bowdoin was ranked fifth. All of the Bantam hopes for an upset were
dashed as the Bears hammered Trinity with a 7-4 victory.
Bowdoin's defense was tested in the first half; a Trinity goal scored
with just minutes remaining until the mid-game break put the Bears behind
2-3. An inspirational halftime speech from Bowdoin head coach Nicky Pearson
kindled the women's fire, and they came back in the second half ready
to strike.
Within the first five minutes senior captain Kristi Perine and sophomore
Elsbeth Pratt both scored two quick goals while sophomore Amanda Burrage
added one of her own. This five-goal scoring streak put the Bears up 7-3,
effectively sealing the victory. Trinity retaliated with one more goal,
but it was not enough to challenge the resilient Bears.
Senior goalie Julia McCombs was critical to the Bowdoin victory. Her
impressive ten saves was an instrumental contribution to the victory.
Sophomore Shoshana Kuriloff also added a goal and an assist.
Sunday proved more challenging for the Bears. They traveled to Waterville
to face Colby's White Mules in the first round of the NESCAC playoffs.
Coming off a regular-season loss to Colby, the team was aware that the
contest ahead of them was going to be a grueling one.
The challenge didn't intimidate the Bears, however, and they came out
strong in the first half. With goals from Perine, Burrage, and junior
Libby Bourke, Bowdoin closed the first 30 minutes with a 3-2 lead. The
second half was less fruitful, though, and the Bears could not impede
a nine-goal run from Colby.
The game ended with an 11-7 victory for the Mules; hat tricks from both
Burrage and Perine, as well as an enormous 15 saves from McCombs were
not enough for the women to advance to the second round of NESCAC playoffs.
"It's always tough to lose to Colby, especially in the tournament
and in our last game of the year," senior Whitney Church said. "However,
we aren't letting that take away from the numerous other things we are
proud of. It was a special season."
The overall success of the spring 2002 season is greatly afforded to the zealous and enduring leadership of the seniors on the team. Beth Sherman, Kristi Perine, Carrie Simonds, Whitney Church, Kate Labella, and Julia McCombs will all be greatly missed.