MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - The Bowdoin College women's lacrosse team's bid for its first NESCAC Championship came up just short in a 13-10 loss to Middlebury in the conference title match on Sunday afternoon.

Middlebury (16-2), who outscored Bowdoin (13-5) 4-1 over the final 10:01, wins the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Polar Bears are likely to receive an at-large bid when selections are announced on Saturday evening at 10:00 p.m.

Game Highlights

• In a back-and-forth contest, neither team had more than a two goal lead until the final minutes.
• Bowdoin broke out on a 4-2 run, keyed by a pair of Hannah Hirschfeld goals, to take the early edge.
• Middlebury replied with a 3-1 surge to end the half, tying the game on a Emma McDonagh goal with 5:28 before the half to make it 5-5 at intermisson.
• The teams continued their see-saw battle to start the second half, as the Panthers jumped ahead 8-6 on a three-goal surge, only to see Bowdoin tie the game on consecutive goals by Kate McAloon and Hirschfeld with 12:52 to go.
• Erin Nicholas for Middlebury and Bowdoin's Eliza Denious swapped goals as the game found itself deadlocked, 9-9, with 10:54 on the clock.
• Middlebury's game-winning surge started with back-to-back goals from Emily Barnard and Casey O'Neill, but Bowdoin's Kara Finnerty briefly stopped the run with a goal, making it 11-10 Panthers with 5:47 to go.
• McDonagh pushed the lead back to two goals just 40 seconds later and Georgia Carroll iced it with a goal at 3:09, making it 13-10 Middlebury.

By The Numbers

• The statistics reflected the closely-fought contest as Middlebury held a 38-30 edge in shots and 14-11 lead in draw controls.
• Hannah Hirschfeld was outstanding again for Bowdoin, scoring four goals with an assist. Eliza Denious added two goals and a helper.
• Middlebyry was led by a hat trick from Emma McDonagh.
• Kara Finnerty had three draw controls and two caused turnovers for Bowdoin while Grace DeWald and Finnerty had four ground balls apiece.
• Kayli Weiss stopped 11 shots for Bowdoin and Middlebury's Julia Keith (three saves) and Kate Furber (eight saves) combined for 11 stops as well.

Up Next

• Bowdoin will learn its NCAA fate when selections are announced by the NCAA at 10:00 p.m. Sunday at:
  https://www.ncaa.com/sports/lacrosse-women/d3