NESCAC Saturday: Bowdoin and Middlebury Both Win to Set Up a Huge Tuesday
Two ranked NESCAC sides, two Saturday road wins, and both with something real on the line.
Bowdoin left it late, and then didn’t. Connecticut College stunned the Polar Bears after just 36 seconds in New London, Elizabeth Bonner converting a penalty corner off Eloise Montagano’s assist. Bowdoin controlled the rest of the half but went into the break still trailing 1-0. Then came the third quarter: Maddie Mrva equalised at 35:44 after a flurry of corners, and less than two minutes later Charlotte Crawford scored the winner at 37:34. Two goals, two minutes, game over.
The win stretches Bowdoin’s streak to eight straight, their longest since 2021, and more importantly it clinches a home NESCAC quarterfinal on Saturday 31 October at Ryan Field. They’re 12-2 overall, 7-2 in the conference, ranked third in the Division III NPI. Tuesday brings the regular-season finale at top-ranked Tufts. That’s a free hit in one sense, and a statement game in another.
Middlebury hold off Bates
No. 2 Middlebury had the same kind of afternoon in Lewiston, beating No. 20 Bates 4-2. Addie Chandler opened it from a penalty stroke, then set up Hadley Crowther 26 seconds into the second quarter for 2-0. Bates kept coming back: Caroline Nowak pulled one back from a corner, Megan Fuqua restored the two-goal lead from a stroke, Haley Dwight made it 3-2, and Emma McNealy settled it with a solo effort with 5:29 left, collecting a loose ball on the left sideline and lifting it over goalkeeper Ava Donohue.
Chandler has nine points in her last two games, and Middlebury’s record against Bates is now 46-6-1 across 53 meetings. The Panthers close the regular season at home against No. 8 Williams on Tuesday. Bowdoin at Tufts, Middlebury v Williams, both on Tuesday night. The NESCAC regular season doesn’t do quiet endings.
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