BRUNSWICK, ME–– Despite an early lead, Williams (2-5) fell to NESCAC foe Bowdoin (7-1) 9-6. Today's loss breaks the two-game winning streak Williams had built against Washington & Lee and Bates. The Ephs scoring was led by Evan Dedominicis (Greenville, DE) and Mark Filbotte (Cohasset, MA) spearheaded the Polar Bears' effort with five points. This is the 20th time the Polar Bears and the Ephs have met since 1988. Bowdoin leads the all-time series 14-6.
Head Coach George McCormack observed that Bowdoin is a "very good team and regardless of how we played, they're going to score. They have a very strong offense and are a solid team from top to bottom."
The Ephs, who are currently tied for ninth place in the NESCAC, jumped out to an early lead against the No. 3 Polar Bears. Junior Dedominicis scored the first goal of the game. He was assisted by Steven Kiesel (Excelsior, NM). Bowdoin returned fire two minutes later, tying the game at 1-1. The Ephs went on to score three more unanswered goals in the first, including two from seniors Michael Acierno (Short Hills, NJ) and Sam Hargrove (Wallingford, PA) and one from Kiesel.
Williams entered the second quarter with a 4-1 lead, but Bowdoin returned from the break ready to play. Filbotte (Cohasset, MA) scored his second goal of the game at 10:09. Play went back and forth between the two teams, and the Ephs were able to hold the Polar Bears to two until the final moments of the quarter. Nathan Fritts (Portland, OR), assisted by Will Wise (Cohasset, MA), brought the score within one with 50 seconds left to play. Williams closed the quarter up 4-3.
Bowdoin continued their second quarter run, putting away four more goals to take a 7-4 lead. Dedominicis broke the Polar Bears' streak, notching his second goal of the game with 11:16 left to play in the fourth quarter. Patrick Lawlor (Hanover, MA) responded five minutes later, followed closely by Filbotte's third goal of the game, giving Bowdoin a 9-5 lead. Williams junior midfielder Will Stewart (South Salem, NY) brought the game within three on a man-up situation after Bowdoin's Matthew Egan (Newton, MA) took a holding penalty. The Ephs ran out of time, finally falling to the Polar Bears 9-6.
McCormack stated "We needed to match their momentum [in the second and third quarters]. They're a good team, and whenever you have a a lapse like we did, they're going to capitalize on it and score." Heading into next weekend's game against Tufts, McCormack wants the team to focus on "our attack during all four quarters" and maintaining the "uptempo offense" the Ephs have displayed over the past two games.
Sean Dougherty (Smithtown, NY) and Chris Williamson (Winnetka, IL) played the entire sixty minutes. Dougherty faced 19 shots, saving ten of them. Williamson made ten saves after facing sixteen shots. McCorkmack observed that Dougherty has been "stellar the past two games." McCormack also said the Eph defense, led by senior captains Greg White (Weston, MA) and David Doggett (Byfield, MA) has been "playing well." The defense have also been helped by defensive middies Stephen Upton (Alexandria, VA), Tucker Dayton (San Francisco, CA), Eric Kelley (Wilmington, DE), and Peter Sullivan (Darien, CT).
McCormack concluded that he is "very proud of how the guys worked over spring break, and really proud of the effort they put into those games. I'm looking forward to playing Tufts and seeing what we can do."
Williams hosts No. 4 Tufts on April 7th. The game begins at 1pm.
