VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Katie Riley won a national championship as a freshman. Now, as a senior on the Bowdoin College field hockey team, she’s one game from a second.
After the Polar Bears beat Christopher Newport 4-1 in an NCAA Division III semifinal Friday, Riley wasted no time answering how it would feel to close out her career with another national title.
NCAA FINAL
WHAT: NCAA Division III field hockey championship game
WHO: Bowdoin (17-3) vs. Salisbury State, Md. (22-1)
WHEN: 10:30 a.m. Sunday
WHERE: Norfolk, Va.
Additional Photos
“It would be amazing,” she said immediately, her face breaking into a wide grin. “I want it. I want it so badly.”
Sitting next to her, sophomore Rachel Kennedy was asked about winning her first national championship.
“I’m so excited,” she said. “After we lost last year at the NCAAs, we were so upset, but it just made us that much more hungry to make it there this year.”
Bowdoin (17-3) will play for the championship at 10:30 a.m. Sunday against Salisbury (Md.)State, a 3-2 winner over Skidmore in the other semifinal.
Riley and Kennedy have been the Polar Bears’ scoring leaders all season, and Friday’s game was no different.
Riley scored two goals in the first half and Kennedy added two in the second as Bowdoin (17-3) kept play bottled up in the Christopher Newport end for most of the game.
Christopher Newport (21-2) took a 1-0 lead barely four minutes into the game, but Riley tied the game less than a minute later.
Marcy Hoath of Christopher Newport said the quick turnaround took away any momentum her team had gained.
“We call that the red zone – because right after you score, it’s when the other team is likely to score one back on you,” Hoath said. “We fell victim to our red zone.”
After Riley’s first goal tied it, the Polar Bears took charge. They outshot the Captains 14-6 and had twice as many penalty corners, 8-4.
The fast pace of the water-based surface worked to the advantage of the Polar Bears, who play at home on a similar surface.
Christopher Newport plays on an infield surface that slows the pace – the Captains didn’t play a single game on a water-based turf until Friday.
“We like to be able to play on a surface that’s similar to what we play on at home,” Bowdoin Coach Nicky Pearson said. “That fast pace plays right into our style of play.”
Both of Riley’s goals came from the left side, about 5 yards out.
On the first, she chipped the ball past goalie Bailey Lien. The second, with about five minutes remaining in the first half, came on a second effort after Lien made the initial save.
Riley attributed the 2-1 halftime advantage to her team’s resilience after giving up a goal in the opening minutes.
“We’re not the sort of team to get taken out of our game by something like that,” she said. “It just made us a little hungrier to turn around and get that goal back.”
In the second half, the Polar Bears limited Christopher Newport to two shots, and goalkeeper Hannah Gartner had the answers anytime the Captains got close.
Kennedy’s first goal – converting a rebound after a Bowdoin penalty corner – came with 23 minutes left in the game, but the 3-1 lead was all but insurmountable for a Christopher Newport team whose calling card has been a smothering defense.
The Captains tried everything to create opportunities, but the Polar Bears prevented them from putting together any sequence of passes to move the ball upfield.
Kennedy’s final goal simply served as an exclamation point on a victory that was already in hand.
“After the first few minutes, we made some adjustments and settled in,” Pearson said.
“I’m very proud that we could score four goals against a very good defensive team. Now we’re just looking forward to one more.”
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