BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Bowdoin College field hockey team will return to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time since 2015 when they host Eastern Connecticut State University in a first round match Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. on Ryan Field.
 
The field will open at 5 p.m. Wednesday evening with tickets being $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and students. Bowdoin students are free w/ID. For those who cannot attend, the game will be carried live on the Northeast Sports Network. Team previews are available below. 

Bowdoin College Polar Bears (14-4, NESCAC Runners-up) – Schedule – Statistics
The Polar Bears are making their 14^th NCAA Division III Tournament appearance, but first since 2015…Bowdoin has won four NCAA Championships (2007, '08, '10, '13) overall and owns a 30-9 record all-time in tournament play, including a 17-0 record all-time in NCAA games at Ryan Field…after beginning the year 2-2, the Polar Bears rolled off a 12-1 run leading up to the NESCAC title game loss to Middlebury, outscoring opponents 45-7 over that 13-game stretch…the Polar Bears enter the tournament as the fifth-ranked squad in the latest NFHCA Division III poll…Faith Jennings is Bowdoin's leading scorer this fall, totaling 41 points on 17 goals and seven assists…goaltender Maddie Ferrucci leads a stellar defensive unit, allowing just 1.30 goals per game…in her 25^th season at Bowdoin, NFHCA Hall of Famer Nicky Pearson enters the NCAA Tournament with a career mark of 366-81 (.818).
 
Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors (14-5, LEC Champions) – Schedule – Statistics
The Warriors will be making their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance after winning their first Little East Conference tournament title with a 1-0 win over top-seeded and host Keene State College last weekend… Eastern Connecticut has enjoyed a record-setting season this fall and brings a five-game winning streak (one short of the program record) into Wednesday… the team has set season records this year for wins (14), conference regular-season wins (9), road wins (7)… in her first year as the starting goalie, junior Sarah Gallagher has set a season record with seven full shutouts, with her current 1.57 goals-against average ranking third all-time at Eastern Conn… senior Brianna Nolan broke the school's scoring records with 15 goals and 31 points this fall…the head coach of the Warriors since 2006, Christine Hutchinson has more years (16) has compiled more wins (103) than any previous coach in program history.

All-Time Series
The two schools have never played each other in field hockey. 

Up Next
The winner of Wednesday's match advances to a regional at Johns Hopkins University this weekend, where they will play the winner of Christopher Newport/Centre on Saturday.