BRUNSWICK — None of the Bowdoin men’s lacrosse players were in college when the Polar Bears made their only trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament back in 2008.

The one common thread between this year’s squad and the 2008 team was the opponent, as Mount Ida College from Newton, Mass., stood on the other side of the field.

The 11-5 win in 2008 advanced Bowdoin out of the First Round. This time around, the game was put away early as the Polar Bears darted out to a big halftime lead and coasted to a 16-5 rout.

Up next for 14-5 Bowdoin is Union College (12-4) on Saturday in the DIII Second Round, while the Mustangs finish 15-5.

The Polar Bears were ahead 4-0 less than four minutes into the game, led 7-0 after one quarter and 13-0 by halftime.

“For everyone on this team, it was the first NCAA Tournament appearance, so it was important to jump on them early, and we did just that,” said Bowdoin junior Patrick Lawlor, who dished out four of his gamehigh five assists in the first half. “We knew where everyone was going to be, and at this time of the year, it is nice to see that everything was natural.”

Quick start

David Nemirov started things off quickly for Bowdoin, beating Mount Ida goaltender Jimmy McAllister (16 saves) on the game’s first shot just 37 seconds in. Christopher Anderson and Keegan Mehlhorn each picked up two goals in the opening frame, with one each coming from Griffin Cardew and Will Wise.

The offense kept coming at the shell-shocked Mustangs in the second quarter, with Wise completing his hat trick with two more goals, and Conor O’Toole, Brendan Hughes, Tyler Williams and Cardew getting into the act.

“These guys played flawlessly in the first half, and I don’t care who we’re playing when we are shooting the ball like that,” said Bowdoin coach Tom McCabe. “Their goalie (McAllister) had the top save percentage in the country and is very good, but we just shot the ball very well. I am proud of the way the guys moved the ball.”

“We’re continuing to work hard, and everything seems to be clicking,” said Bowdoin defenseman Max Rosner of Brunswick, who teamed with starters Dylan Hannes and Matthew Egan to keep Mount Ida to just four shots in the first half, while Bowdoin fired 24 at the Mustangs’ net.

“We prepared for the game the same way as all the others, and we carried over our mentality from the regular season to this.”

Mount Ida received third-quarter goals from Michael Trocchi, J.T. Hoyt and Nick Maurais, while Bowdoin answered on a goal each from Williams and Dan Hanley.

In the final frame, a goal by Polar Bear forward Pierce King (assisted by Lawlor) was sandwiched by one each from Mount Ida’s Zachary Jacobson and Brendan Hylan.

“We felt confident coming back here, but Bowdoin is obviously a great team, and that first quarter they came out with speed and they were extremely fast,” said Mount Ida coach Andrew Fink. “We want Bowdoin to go on now, and hopefully we were able to push them in the second half and help get them ready for that next round.”

Bowdoin finished with a 43-17 shot advantage and a 39-22 edge in groundballs, led by seven from Hughes. Polar Bear goaltenders Christopher Williamson and Michael Bottinelli combined on nine saves.

Bowdoin 16, Mount Ida 5
NCAA Division III First Round
At Brunswick

Mount Ida — 0 0 3 2 — 5
Bowdoin — 7 6 2 1 — 16

Goals — (MI) Michael Trocchi, J.T. Hoyt, Nick Maurias, Zach Jacobson, Brendan Hyland; (B) David Nemirov, Christopher Anderson 2, Keegan Mehlhorn 2, Conor O’Toole, Griffin Cardew 2, Will Wise 3, Brendan Hughes, Tyler Williams 2, Dan Hanley, Pierce King.

Assists — (MI) Gilson Fernandes, Zach Jacobson; (B) Christopher Anderson, Patrick Lawlor 5, Conor O’Toole, Dylan Hannes, Tyler Williams, Dan Hanley.

Shots — Bowdoin 43-17.

Saves — (MI) Jimmy McAllister 16; (B) Christopher Williamson 7, Michael Bottinelli 2.

Groundballs — Bowdoin 39-22.

Records — Bowdoin 14-5, Mount Ida 15-5.

Next for the Polar Bears — NCAA Division III Second Round vs. Union, TBA.

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