BRUNSWICK, Maine - The Bowdoin College men's lacrosse team will return to the NESCAC Semifinals for the first time since 2012 following a 10-8 victory over Wesleyan in the opening round of the conference tournament on Saturday at Pickard Field.

The Polar Bears, seeded third in the tourney, improve to 12-4 on the season and will face either Amherst or Middlebury in the semifinals next Saturday at Tufts. Wesleyan likely ends its season at 10-5.

Game Highlights

• Bowdoin never trailed in the contest, but couldn't put the Cardinals away
• Back-to-back goals by Shawn Daly gave the Polar Bears an early 4-1 edge, but Wesleyan was able to trim the lead to 4-3 after one quarter thanks to late tallies from Harry Stanton and Quentin DellaFera
• The Polar Bears used another 4-1 surge to open the second period, expanding the lead to 8-4 thanks to two Brett Kujala markers
• But Wesleyan again replied with two scores with under three minutes remaining, as Niall Devaney and Stanton cut the Bowdoin lead to 8-6 at halftime
• The game settled into a defensive struggle in the second half as both teams' offenses were unable to find their stride
• Christian Barker scored twice in the third quarter for Wesleyan, sandwiched around an Alex Osgood goal for Bowdoin, to make the contest 9-8 Bowdoin heading into the final period
• Wesleyan had several chances to tie the contest, but Bowdoin's Peter Mumford and the Polar Bear defense were up to the task, as Wesleyan went scoreless in the final quarter despite nine shots
• Mumford saved four shots in the fourth quarter and Bowdoin got some insurance with under three minutes remaining when Daniel Buckman found Kujala in front of the goal for a two-goal cushion, 10-8, with 2:56 to go

By The Numbers

• Bowdoin avenged a regular-season loss to the Cardinals, who had defeated them in Middletown on April 16, 12-11, in overtime
• Sam Carlin was dominant in the face-off dot, winning 17 of 22 draws in the victory for Bowdoin
• The Polar Bears were paced by four goals and an assist from Brett Kujala. Shawn Daly had two goals and two assists
• Wesleyan got two goals and an assist from Christian Barker. Quentin DellaFera and Harry Stanton had two goals apiece in the loss
• Peter Mumford stopped 12 shots in the victory for Bowdoin while Ted Bergman made nine saves in defeat for Wesleyan
• Defensively, Wesleyan's Andrew Rodriguez had two caused turnovers and three ground balls. Bowdoin's Max Nordeen had a pair of caused turnovers and two ground balls.
• Bowdoin held a 52-37 shot advantage, went 2-4 with the extra man and did not commit a penalty in the victory

Up Next

• Depending on results in other semifinal games to be played Saturday afternoon, Bowdoin will either face Amherst or Middlebury in the conference semifinals next Saturday at Tufts. Game time will be 3:00 p.m. on May 7.