No. 19 Women’s Lacrosse Loses Thriller to Bowdoin

Coming into their game on Saturday against No. 16 NESCAC opponent Bowdoin, Amherst — ranked No. 19 in the nation — was looking to add to their impressive six-game win streak. However, the Mammoths went down two goals as the Polar Bears established their lead early in the first quarter, and Bowdoin would not trail for the remainder of the match.

Not to be put down without a fight, the Mammoths got on the board with 34 seconds left in the first when midfielder/attacker Lauren Friedman ’25 scored her team-leading 20th goal of the season to narrow the early deficit to 3-1.

In the second quarter, scoring went back and forth between the Mammoths and the Polar Bears, with Bowdoin putting up three goals to Amhert’s two. Another first-year midfielder Rachel Rogers ’25, along with senior captain Becky Kendall ’22, led the Mammoths’ offense in the second frame, scoring a goal each to keep them within striking distance. But Bowdoin still held a 6-3 lead going into halftime.

Headed into the half, the Mammoths were hopeful at their chances given the slim deficit, and it showed coming out of the break. Bowdoin scored first, but that first third-quarter tally was no match for Amherst’s four consecutive goals, part of a scoring run that swung momentum in the Mammoths’ favor. Kendall netted her second of the game before senior attacker Marina Bevacqua ’22 took over, scoring the next three goals to lift the Mammoths from a three-goal deficit to a 7-7 tie. Her third goal came with only 16 seconds remaining in the third quarter to level the score. Despite the impressive scoring run for the Mammoths, Bowdoin responded with another goal with just two seconds remaining in the third to maintain a narrow lead going into the final period.

Amherst started the fourth quarter with a goal from Kendall that was disallowed after it was ruled that she was pushed into the crease by a Polar Bear defender. The nullified goal, which would have tied the game at eight apiece, ended up being a crucial moment, as Bowdoin opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a goal that put them up 9-7. Not to be discouraged, midfielder Fiona Jones ’23 netted her sixth goal of the season to bring the Mammoths back within one, with the score standing at 9-8 with 3:36 to go in the game. It was then that Polar Bears shut the door on the Mammoths’ advance, adding two more to their score to put the game out of reach. Attacker Kendyl Stewart ’23 scored one more goal with two seconds left, but in the end, the Mammoths just ran out of time.

Despite the final score of 11-9, goalie Caroline Fischer ’22 tied her career-high of eight saves in the loss, her second straight game recording that total. Kendall netted multiple goals for the third straight game — extended her goal-scoring streak to thirteen games — and Bevacqua led all Amherst scorers with her first career hat trick.

Women’s lacrosse will return on Wednesday, April 6, to take on NESCAC rival Wesleyan on Pratt Field at 6 p.m., searching for their first win on the road to a Little Three championship.