As the weather finally started to heat up, so did the competition for the men’s lacrosse team. On Saturday, April 12, the Cardinals hosted the Polar Bears of Bowdoin. It was the first game on Jackson Field after a long winter, played with a game-time temperature of 70 degrees under a warm spring sun. With a big hometown crowd and the smell of roses handed out by the 13 seniors to their parents on Senior Day, the Cardinals could not have asked for anything more, except a win. After 60 minutes of hard-fought lacrosse, the Cardinals got that wish, too, besting the Bears 11-10. With the victory, the Cardinals moved to 10-3 on the season with a 7-1 NESCAC record, securing sole possession of first place in the conference; the Bears fell to 9-4, sitting in third in the NESCAC with a 6-3 conference record.

“It’s really special; this was for first place in the NESCAC at the current moment,” said Captain Sam Stanton ’14. “We’re thrilled. Obviously Senior Day is a nice thing, but every game matters just as much, and this was no different.”

The Cardinals, with emotions running high, could not have asked for a better start, quickly jumping out to a 3-0 lead in a span of two minutes. After Quentin DellaFera ’15 netted the third goal, the Bears were forced to call a timeout to try and stop the bleeding.

“I was very, very proud of their effort, because, you know, Bowdoin is a very good team,” said Head Coach John Raba. “They beat Amherst earlier in the year, they are one of the top teams in the league, and we knew it was going to be a grinding-type game.”

After the timeout, the Bears regrouped and took control of the game, winning the next five face-offs and scoring four unanswered goals. Suddenly down 4-3, the Cardinals had to call a timeout of their own with just under five minutes left in the first quarter. The two teams traded goals to the end, the first half knotted at five. The Bears opened the third quarter promptly taking the lead, but the Cardinals answered with a 3-0 run to regain the lead for the first time since the opening period.

“I am proud of the way we came out, but also very proud of the way when they responded how we responded back, and that was the difference between the Amherst game and the Bowdoin game,” Raba said. “We were able to answer some goals.”

Heading into the final 15 minutes of regulation, the Cards had an 8-6 lead, but the Polar Bears were determined to not go down without a fight. They tied the game at eight apiece with 8:51 to play. Less than a minute later, Nate Ryan ’15 scored his eighth goal of the season, putting the Cards back in the lead. Bowdoin did not let its deficit last, though, responding to Ryan’s goal immediately. Just six seconds of game time later, after winning a questionable faceoff, the Bears had tied it back up. They won the next faceoff and scored again in just 14 seconds more, giving Bowdoin a 10-9 edge.

With 5:51 on the scoreboard, Captain Aidan Daniell ’14 gave life back to the fans, beating Bowdoin’s keeper for an equalizer. Exactly one minute later, Daniell fed fellow senior Graham Macnab for the game-winning goal, which also completed Macnab’s hat trick on the day; he was one of two Cards to score so prolifically against Bowdoin, as DellaFera put home three goals as well. Macnab had bookended the scoring for the Cardinals, giving them their first and last goals of the victory.

“I thought we played great,” said Captain Elliot Albert ’14. “I mean there were definitely times when I thought we could have played better, but, you know, that’s the game: it’s tough at times, but it’s how you respond, and I was really proud of our guys for that, the way we responded to adversity.”

After a questionable no-call of a push with possession, Bowdoin regained the ball with 30 seconds left. Only seven ticks remained when the Bears called a timeout to set up what they hoped would be a game-tying goal to send the contest into OT. They got a shot off, but Justin Schick ’15 made his sixth save of the game as time expired, preserving the Wesleyan win.

“I am very happy with the overall team effort,” Raba said. “We had to score some goals at the end there in the fourth quarter to put it away and we did. We came with some big plays and I couldn’t be more proud of the guys.”

With a week before the rematch of last season’s NESCAC Championship at Tufts on Saturday, April 19, the Cardinals will first prepare by watching film and getting a feeling for their foes.

“They run a very frenetic, fast-paced offense and have some guys who can really shoot the ball and we have to have a pretty good plan to try and take away some of their strengths if we can,” Raba said.

The Tufts Jumbos are currently ranked second in the NESCAC standings with a conference record of 6-1.

“Every game is a battle,” Daniell said. “We love playing here on our grass, but no matter what, it is going to be a close game with every team in the NESCAC.”

There is a lot more on the line for both teams than just the pride that comes with at win. Although the Jumbos will still face the Bears on Wednesday, April 23 after they square off against the Cards, the winner of the game this Saturday will most likely clinch the first seed for the NESCAC tournament and home field advantage.

“They are tough to beat up there, but this is a big, big game because this could basically set the tone for who is going to host the NESCAC playoffs,” Raba said. “It will be for the first seed, and I think our guys will be excited.”