BOWDOIN COLLEGE’S Eddie Jones (27, top photo) collides with UMaine-Farmington’s Zach Sathasivam (8) during a men’s soccer game in Brunswick on Saturday. In the bottom photo, Uche Esonu has the ball, while being bothered by two Williams players and supported by Anita Shah and Anissa Tanksley. Rachel Henderson is in the background.
Bowdoin took the initial kickoff and worked downfield on a series of possessions, and at a ruck five yards out, scrumhalf Kameryn Sanchez fed the ball to Anissa Tanksley who took it into the try zone. Randi London converted for a 7-0 lead. Bowdoin continued its dominance and scored six more tries in the first half with strong ball handling.
Laurel Mast, Kerry Townsend, Maddie Baird, London, Lynn Freedman and Charlotte Kleiman scored a try apiece with a conversion from Dani McAvoy and two from London. The Polar Bears held a 41-0 lead at intermission.
Bowdoin keyed off its defense in the second half with scores from Uche Esonu, Townsend, Anna Piotti and Rachel Henderson. London converted two more for a final score of 65-0.
Bowdoin’s dominance Saturday came from the set pieces and rucking by the forward pack and the standout service from scrumhalf Sanchez and flyhalf Emily Athanas-Linden, who set up the rest of the backline for running and scoring opportunities. Henderson, playing in her first game at outside center, ran great lines through the defense, as did Townsend, Kleiman, Freedman, Mast and London.
Bowdoin is set to return to action next Saturday (noon) at Bates.
Men’s soccer
On Sunday, Zach Danssaert scored the game-winning goal with 4:04 remaining to give Bowdoin College a 1-0 win over 10th-ranked Babson.
With their third consecutive victory, the Polar Bears improve to 3-1-0 and beat a ranked opponent for the first time since 2010. Babson lost its first game of the season and drops to 5-1-1 on the year.
The Babson defense blocked shots by Danssaert and forward Andrew Jones in the moments leading up to the deciding goal. Eddie Jones won a battle for the ball in the corner and dealt a short pass from the right flank to Danssaert, who tucked a shot inside the right post for his team-leading fourth goal of the season.
Babson’s Brenden Matthews ripped a shot from just inside the top of the box that Bowdoin keeper Will Wise tipped over the cross bar in the 21st minute, and Eric Anderson had his header bounce just over the frame off a cross from Kevin Israel in the 29th minute.
Bowdoin’s Sam White missed just high in the 18th minute, and Jones hit a rocket from 30 yards out that Babson junior goalkeeper Jackson Klein was able to knock down before smothering the rebound in the 24th minute. Michael Gale nearly put the Polar Bears ahead just after halftime with a blast from just outside the box, but Klein made a diving save to his right to keep the game scoreless.
Wise made one save to earn his third consecutive shutout for Bowdoin, which has not allowed a goal in its last 331:57. Klein made three saves for Babson. Bowdoin outshot Babson 15-8 on the afternoon, including a 10-3 advantage in the second half.
On Saturday, Bowdoin scored four first-half goals and cruised to a 6-0 non-conference win over the University of Maine-Farmington,
The Polar Bears held a decisive 43-2 advantage in shots over the Beavers (1-3-0) and got goals from five different players in the victory.
Eddie Jones got Bowdoin started just moments into the game, receiving an over-thetop pass from Andrew Jones and putting home his own rebound in the third minute. Hunter Clark doubled Bowdoin’s lead in the 25th with a hard shot from the 18 and Danssaert followed a minute later by finishing off a cross from Ben Brewster. Thomas Henshall rounded out the first-half scoreforaa4-0lead.
Gale scored twice in the second half, both off assists from Ben Citrin, to close out the scoring.
On the UMF roster are senior Alex Slack of Wiscasset and freshman Ryan Fairbanks of Lisbon Falls.
Volleyball
Bowdoin stayed perfect with a key 3-1 conference win over Trinity on Saturday at Morrell Gymnasium.
The 25th-ranked Polar Bears improved to 7-0 (2-0 NESCAC) by taking set scores of 25-17, 25-15, 17-25, 25-18. The Bantams dropped to 5-1 (1-1 NESCAC).
For the second straight night, Christy Jewett led the way for Bowdoin, earning a team-best 15 kills. Ellie Brennan added 13 kills and three blocks while Melissa Haskell pitched in 11 kills and 11 digs for the hosts.
Sophia Cornew dealt 39 assists, six aces and a seasonhigh 21 digs for Bowdoin. Taylor Vail led all Polar Bears with 25 digs on the day.
On Friday, Bowdoin held off Amherst 3-1 before a raucous crowd at Morrell Gymasium.
Jewett was outstanding for Bowdoin, notching 14 kills and six blocks in the win. Haskell had 16 kills for the Polar Bears and 10 digs while Cornew dished out 38 assists and had 15 digs. Tory Edelman helped the Bowdoin cause with four aces.
Bowdoin is scheduled to return to the court on Wednesday evening in their non-conference match at Colby (7 p.m.).
Cross country
The Bowdoin men and women opened their 2012 campaign with a solid performance in a dual meet at Southern Maine on Saturday.
The Polar Bear men defeated the Huskies, 18-44, while the women’s team opened its year with an exhibition 5K scrimmage. Both squads will compete at the Wesleyan Invitational next weekend.
Bowdoin placed five of the top six finishers on Saturday, including winner Sam Seekins (15:46) and runner-up Coby Horowitz (15:52). Greg Talpey (16:00) was fourth, followed by Nicholas Saba (16:01) and Kevin Hoose (16:12) to round out the Polar Bear scorers.
Field hockey
Seniors Cathleen Smith and Brooke Phinney each scored to lift Bowdoin to a 2-0 win over Wellesley on Saturday afternoon.
The fifth-ranked Polar Bears (3-0) dealt the Blue (4-1) their first loss of the season by not allowing a scoring chance in the contest. Bowdoin held a 30-0 advantage in shots and 16-0 edge in corners.
Bowdoin maintained steady pressure throughout the first half, earning six straight penalty corners.
The Polar Bears finally broke through on the sixth attempt as Katie Riley inserted a ball that Lauren Schroeder quickly snapped on net. Wellesley goalie Brit Mscisz turned aside the attempt, kicking the rebound to the center of the circle. Brooke Phinney pounced on the loose ball and drilled a hard shot into the back of the net to put Bowdoin on the board at 23:55.
Less than three minutes into the second period, Cathleen Smith redirected a Phinney shot to give the hosts a 2-0 lead. Mscisz (16 saves) made several key stops throughout the rest of the game to keep the score close, but the Bowdoin defense proved difficult to crack.
Kayla Lessard was not tested in the Bowdoin cage.
Saturday’s contest included the return of a pair of former Polar Bears to the Ryan Field sideline. Wellesley head coach Julia King (Bowdoin ’09) and assistant coach Emileigh Mercer (Bowdoin ’09) were members of the Polar Bears’ back-to-back NCAA Championship squads in 2007 and ’08.
On Tuesday, the Polar Bears travel to Southern Maine (4 p.m.).
Women’s soccer
Bowdoin continued its torrid start with an impressive 2- 1 win at nationally-ranked Brandeis on Saturday.
The Polar Bears improved to 4-0-0 for the first time since 2007 under first-year head coach Brianne Weaver. The 18th-ranked Judges conceded their first two goals of the season and fell to 5-1-0.
The first half of the contest was evenly played, mainly in the midfield, with Bowdoin owning a 6-4 edge in shots and 4-1 advantage in shots on goal.
The Polar Bears broke through in the final minute of play, when Kathleen Smith fed Audrey Phillips at the right side of the 18-yard box. Phillips lofted a high shot that went just over the outstretched arms of Brandeis goalie Francine Kofinas and under the crossbar just 48 seconds before halftime.
Brandeis turned up its pressure in the second half, outshooting Bowdoin 10-4, but Bridget McCarthy made six of her seven saves after the break.
In the 67th minute, when she made a diving save on Brandeis’ Sapir Edalati to push the ball past the right post. McCarthy also made a nice stop on the ensuing corner kick, getting in front of a shot by Mary Shimko.
The Polar Bears got a key insurance goal in the 85th minute, when midfielder Mary Popolizio one-timed home a cross from Jennifer Hofstetter. Brandeis scored just 3:05 later. Edalati got a head on a corner by Alec Spivack.
McCarthy finished with seven saves for the Polar Bears.
The Polar Bears are set to visit Middlebury (11 a.m.) next Saturday.
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