BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Bowdoin College men's lacrosse team dominated from the opening faceoff on Sunday, scoring the first 12 goals of the game in a 16-5 victory over Amherst in the Third Round of the NCAA Division III Tournament at Whittier Field.
The win puts the Polar Bears (15-3) in the national quarterfinals for the third time in four years, where Bowdoin will face Christopher Newport next Saturday in a game played at Tufts University. Amherst ends its year with a record of 11-6.
Game Highlights
- The Polar Bears sprinted out of the gate to a 5-0 lead in the opening quarter, including a trio of goals in a span of 1:09. Cormac Walsh scored twice and Casey Ryan had three assists to spark the rally.
- The second quarter was more of the same, with Huck Trafton and Jason Lach scored two goals each in a five-goal second quarter that pushed the lead to 10-0 at the break.
- Patrick Fitzgerald found the back of the goal twice to start the second half as Bowdoin led 12-0 before Amherst got on the board.
- Bowdoin coasted from there, with Lach and Fitzgerald pitching in fourth quarter scores to close out the win.
By The Numbers
- A day after holding Rivier scoreless for more than 52 minutes, Bowdoin's defense locked down the Mammoths for the first 35 minutes of Sunday's win.
- Goaltender Robert Hobbs made 12 saves in 54 minutes of play, becoming the school's all-time leader in career saves (928), breaking the mark formerly held by Will Casella '00 (917).
- Brooks Kitchel had two caused turnovers and five ground balls while Nico Schermer had two caused turnovers and four ground balls.
- Casey Ryan spearheaded the Bowdoin offense with seven assists while Jason Lach and Patrick Fitzgerald had four goals apiece. Huck Trafton and Cormac Walsh had three goals each.
- Bowdoin held a 16-9 advantage in faceoffs on the day, led by Beau Burns (8-14), Cam Wietfeldt (5-8), and Alex Choi (3-3).
- Bowdoin finished the regional with an impressive scoring margin of +36 (44-8), the best of any remaining quarterfinal team in the tournament.
Up Next
- Bowdoin will face Christopher Newport (18-3) in the quarterfinals next Saturday at Tufts. It will be the first-ever meeting between the teams in men's lacrosse. Tufts will play Gettysburg in the other quarterfinal game. The winners will play in the national semifinals next Sunday.
- Game times, ticket information, and live coverage will be announced on Monday.