Volume CXXXII, Number 6 October 25, 2002 f

Polar Bears bash Bantams
ALLIE YANIKOSKI
STAFF WRITER

Senior captain Jacqueline Templeton goes up against first year Abby Daley in a practice on Ryan Field. (Karsten Moran, Bowdoin Orient)

The clock read 0:35 seconds, and Bowdoin's field hockey scoreboard posted a 1-1 tie between Bowdoin and Trinity College last Saturday. Then, sophomore Marissa O'Neil shot down the field to assist senior co-captain Jackie Templeton's winning goal.

Bombarded by shots from O'Neil and junior Amanda Burrage, Templeton took advantage of the Bantam goalkeeper's confusion to redirect the outward-bound ball into the goal.

"It was definitely a great feeling," said Templeton, "[but] it just shows how quickly a goal can be scored, and how those few seconds can make or break a game."

O'Neil opened up the game last weekend with a Bowdoin goal 10 minutes into the first half. Trinity scored its lone goal 17 minutes into the second half, sneaking by Bowdoin goalkeeper Gillian McDonald, who thwarted 10 of the Bantams' 11 scoring attempts.

"Gill made a bunch of great saves," said senior co-captain Sarah Laverty. "Amanda [also] had a good game, controlling a lot of the play in the midfield."

Once again, the midfield and defensive lines interlocked to hold off the offensive team. "Trinity has always been a very tough win," said Templeton. "Both last year and the year before that we had to go into overtime to beat them, and on Saturday it seemed that overtime was likely to happen again.

"[Trinity was] really pressuring us and attacking hard during those last minutes of the game," Templeton continued, "but Gill did a great job of clearing the ball out."

Nominated as NESCAC "Player of the Week" last month, McDonald has proved a very stable force behind the Polar Bears' 9-2 overall record thus far.

Tied with rival Williams College, who the Bears defeated 1-0 last month, Bowdoin holds the number one NESCAC team ranking, with a 6-1 NESCAC record. Yet, before advancing to the post-season, Bowdoin will face sixth-ranked Colby this Saturday at home.

"Our goals for Saturday's game [is] to have better communication, better vision, and better connection between our lines of offense, midfield, and defense," said Templeton.