BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Bowdoin College men's lacrosse team never trailed in a battle of top-ten teams on Saturday afternoon at Whittier Field, taking a 16-10 win over Middlebury. The ninth-ranked Polar Bears improve to 3-0 (2-0 NESCAC) while the sixth-ranked Panthers fall to 1-2 (1-1 NESCAC) with the loss.
 
Game Highlights

• Bowdoin burst out of the gate, scoring the game's first three goals, two courtesy of Will Byrne, and controlled the pace of play throughout most of the contest.
• The Polar Bears owned a 4-1 lead after one quarter before Middlebury trimmed the lead to 6-3 at halftime on a last-minute goal by Billy Curtis.
• Bowdoin took command of the contest with a 5-0 run out of the break, sparked by a great save from Robert Hobbs and transition goal by Jed Hoggard at the 12:04 mark.
• Bowdoin outscored Middlebury 7-3 in the third quarter, pushing their advantage to 13-7.
• Middlebury made a late surge, opening the fourth quarter with three straight goals to cut the lead to 13-10, but Bowdoin weathered the storm, and got a key goal by Matt Ward at the 4:12 mark to regain their footing and key a 3-0 run to cap the win.

By The Numbers

• Will Byrne led the Bowdoin offense with two early goals and four assists on the afternoon while Oliver Bernstein scored three goals with two assists.
• Patrick Fitzgerald also had a hat trick for Bowdoin while Sam Ray-Steiner and Matt Ward also had two goals each.
• Bowdoin held a 44-35 edge in shots on the day as Robert Hobbs finished with seven saves as the Polar Bears forced 17 Middlebury turnovers on the day.
• Harp Lane had two caused turnovers and two ground balls while Zack Goorno led the Polar Bears with five ground balls on the day.

Up Next

• The Polar Bears will return to action on Wednesday evening at Endicott at 7:00 p.m.