Box Score BRUNSWICK, Maine—The ninth-ranked William Smith College field hockey team saw its hopes of playing on its home field for the national championship dashed by third-ranked Bowdoin College in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament. The Polar Bears handed the Herons a 3-1 defeat on their home field.
Bowdoin will make its second straight trip to the national semifinals, improving to 17-1 overall. William Smith ends the season with a record of 18-4.
Bowdoin will play fifth-ranked Messiah College in a rematch of a 2005 NCAA Semifinal won by the Falcons, 2-1. Gametime is set for 2 p.m. on Nov. 17 at William Smith's McCooey Field.
Bowdoin controlled the early possession and broke into the scoring
column in the 10th minute. Off a penalty corner, Julia King ripped a shot from the top of the circle that was tipped in front by Burgess LePage for a 1-0 Polar Bear edge. Bowdoin carried its one-goal lead into intermission, holding a 4-1 advantage in shots at the break.
William Smith earned four penalty corners early in the second stanza and finally took advantage, as senior Liz Saucier (Old Town/Old Town, Maine) took a back-door feed from classmate Ashley Barker (Cape Elizabeth/Cape Elizabeth, Maine) and buried a shot into the back of the goal with 30:03 left in regulation. The teams traded chances in the ensuing 10 minutes before Julia King played a long shot into the circle. William Smith neminder sophomore Katie DeKraker (Staples/Westport, Conn.) made the initial stop, but the rebound came to the waiting stick of Lindsay McNamara, who pounded home the rebound for a 2-1 Polar Bear lead with 18:55 remaining.
With the rain coming down harder and conditions deteriorating quickly, Bowdoin added another tally with under 14 minutes to go. McNamara offered a long ball into the circle that came to Burgess LePage. With DeKraker drawn out of position, LePage slapped the ball past the Heron netminder for a 3-1 lead with 13:47 remaining. Bowdoin's defense made the lead stand, allowing just six shots in the game as goaltender Kate Leonard made three second-half saves. DeKraker stopped four shots in goal for William Smith.
The Bowdoin Sports Information Office contributed to this release.
