Nov. 23, 2008

Courtesy of Ursinus Athletics

COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - Senior Lindsay McNamara scored 2:02 into the second overtime to give the Bowdoin College field hockey team its second consecutive NCAA Division III Championship with a 3-2 victory over Tufts University at Ursinus College on Sunday afternoon.

The goal capped an outstanding NCAA Championship game between the NESCAC rivals, who were meeting for the third time this year. On the game-winning play, Bowdoin intercepted a Tufts clearing attempt and moved the ball around to first-year Katie Herter who flipped a shot that Tufts first-year goalkeeper Marianna Zak batted away with her glove. McNamara, the all-time leader scorer in NCAA Tournament play, came across the goalmouth and used a back-handed tap to put the rebound into the cage.

Like in their NCAA semi-final on Saturday against Messiash, Tufts scored quickly to gain a lead against Bowdoin. Sophomore Tamara Brown deftly tipped a free hit from just outside the circle by junior Margi Scholtes 1:13 into the game for a 1-0 advantage.

Bowdoin, however, had most of the momentum in the first 35 minutes and they used it to take a 2-1 lead. Just 1:15 after the Tufts goal, a Polar Bear corner opportunity found its way to senior Madeleine McQueeney at the left post. Her first shot hit the post, but her second found the back of the goal to tie the game at 1-1.

The Polar Bears took a 2-1 lead on a free hit by Kara Kelley that was saved by Zak, but junior Shavonne Lord was there to put in the rebound 10:33 into the first half for a 2-1 advantage.

Junior Michelle Kelly, playing a half-hour from home, beautifully fed Brown, who broke in clean and beat Mercer to the left side with 20:05 on the clock. The goal was Brown’s fifth of the weekend, including three second-half goals in the semi-final. Her two goals on Sunday gave her a final total of 28 for the year.

Tufts had an 11-3 advantage in penalty corners for the contest, while Bowdoin finished with a 16-12 margin in shots. Mercer had seven saves in the Bowdoin cage, while Zak stopped five shots in the Jumbo goal