Wellesley Field Hockey Edged by #5 Bowdoin

BRUNSWICK, Maine - Seniors Cathleen Smith and Brooke Phinney each scored to lift the Bowdoin College field hockey team to a 2-0 win over Wellesley on Saturday afternoon.

The fifth-ranked Polar Bears (3-0) dealt the Blue (4-1) its first loss of the season by not allowing a scoring chance in the contest. Bowdoin held a 30-0 advantage in shots and 16-0 edge in corners.

Bowdoin maintained steady pressure throughout the first half, earning six straight penalty corners. The Polar Bears finally broke through on the sixth attempt as Katie Riley inserted a ball that Lauren Schroeder quickly snapped on net. Wellesley goalie Brit Mscisz turned aside the attempt, kicking the rebound to the center of the circle. Brooke Phinney pounced on the loose ball and drilled a hard shot into the back of the net to put Bowdoin on the board at 23:55. Steady battles for possession in the midfield characterized the rest of the half, with Wellesley just breaking into the Bowdoin defensive end in the remaining minute before halftime.

The Polar Bears wasted little time increasing their lead in the second half. Less than three minutes into the period, Cathleen Smith redirected a Phinney shot to give the hosts a 2-0 lead. Mscisz made several key saves throughout the rest of the game to keep the score close, but the Bowdoin defense proved difficult to crack, as the Wellesley offense would not tally a shot.

Mscisz finished with 16 saves in net for the Blue. Kayla Lessard was not tested in the Bowdoin cage.

Saturday's contest included the return of a pair of former Polar Bears to the Ryan Field sideline. Wellesley head coach Julia King (Bowdoin '09) and assistant coach Emileigh Mercer (Bowdoin '09) were members of the Polar Bears' back-to-back NCAA Championship squads in 2007 and '08.

Bowdoin will see action again on September 18th as the Polar Bears travel to face off against Southern Maine at 4 p.m. Wellesley will play again on September 20th against Gordon College at 4:30 p.m.