This is the way it's supposed to happen.
With the clock and the scoreboard reading all zeroes in their biggest game of the season, the Bowdoin Polar Bears and Williams Ephs lined up on the 25-yardline and watched as, one by one, their players stepped to the penalty line. It took four rounds of strokes to determine a winner, but two key saves from junior keeper Kate Leonard gave Bowdoin its second NESCAC crown, a perfect ending for a perfect 16-0 season.
Bowdoin is currently ranked No. 4 in the national standings, and the team has garnered five first-place votes in the final poll of the season. With the win, the Polar Bears won the right to host the NCAA Regionals, earning a bye in the first round of the tournament. They will play The College of New Jersey on Saturday, which advanced with a 5-1 win over Keene State yesterday afternoon.
Bowdoin's route to the championship game started late, as the Polar Bears earned a day off in the first round after winning the regular-season title. A 2-0 win over the Wesleyan Cardinals, who knocked Tufts out of the tournament in the first round, put the Polar Bears right where everyone expected them to be all season long.
The Ephs' journey to the final game was a not quite as easy. After trading goals, and the lead, with Conn. College throughout most of their first-round game against the Camels, the Ephs finally came out on top, 5-3, led by a hat trick from junior Cathleen Clark. The win set up a rematch of Williams' Oct. 15 regular-season overtime 3-2 loss to Middlebury.
The second time around between these two teams was just as close, with Clark once again lifting her team out of a stalemate. The junior one-timed a pass just 64 seconds into the overtime period, her sixth goal in four games, to send Williams to the title game.
Although they fell short of the conference title and the automatic bid that comes with it, both teams were awarded at-large bids to the tournament, reflecting the competitive nature and the strength of the league. Williams, ranked 14th in the country at 13-4, has the lowest seed and therefore the toughest draw of the three NESCAC teams.
In their sixth consecutive NCAA appearance under coach Alix Rorke, the Ephs knocked off Western New England College 6-0 last night to advance to the regionals, where they will face second-ranked Ursinus. The Ephs recorded goals from six different scorers in yesterday's win, and will need every offensive threat they can find to get past the 18-2 Bears.
The Panthers, entering the postseason 13-3 and ranked tenth nationally, beat Manhattanville at home last night 5-1. If Middlebury can pull off a win over No. 9 Springfield, and if Bowdoin can hold off unranked TCNJ, the two could meet in an all-NESCAC quarterfinal on Nov. 13.
After a 2-1 double overtime loss to Bowdoin during the regular season, Middlebury coach Katherine DeLorenzo is eager for another shot at the unbeaten Polar Bears, though she is careful not to look past Saturday's matchup against top-ranked Springfield.
"Absolutely, that would be really fun," DeLorenzo said. "But we both have our work cut out for us in next round. We're playing Springfield, and [TCNJ] is a perennial power. I think that's a tough draw for Bowdoin for their first game."
The 2005 NESCAC tournament and the subsequent success of league teams in the NCAA brackets reflect the parity across the league and the comparative strength of NESCAC teams.
DeLorenzo commented on the strength of teams across the league.
"It's absolutely fantastic," she said. "From one team to the next, there are little differences in style, but in terms of total impact there's such depth throughout the teams. Manhattanville is the best in their league and there was no comparison [yesterday]. I'm sure they'll continue on and do well, but [the win] is a reflection on all of NESCAC. It's not just the parity among the top couple of teams; it's everyone. A top team from out of region - [Manhattanville] - comes and they can't compete."
NESCAC remains one of the most competitive leagues in Div. III, and a quick look at the 2005 season confirms this. Two of the three final tournament games went into overtime, and the final was decided on penalty strokes after two scoreless extra periods. Three NESCAC teams finished the season in the top 12 in the nation, and the three regular-season games between them were all decided by a single goal in overtime, with two results coming in double OT. The league continues to produce top-quality programs, and the Jumbos will have to capitalize on the "any given Saturday" nature of NESCAC matchups to find their way to the top of the rankings in the years to come.
