The men’s lacrosse team beat the elements and the Bowdoin Polar Bears on Saturday, fighting through a hailstorm to earn a 6-3 win. Charlie Congleton ’07, fresh off being named NESCAC Player Of The Week, made 19 saves as the Cards improved their record to 8-1 (3-1 NESCAC). The conference loss was Bowdoin’s first of the year.
Though a muddy North Field made for a low-scoring game, it did not take long for the Cards to draw first blood. Off a feed from tri-captain Glenn Adams ’06, Mike Vitulano ’06 notched his 13th goal of the season less than three minutes into the contest. Bowdoin stormed back to take a 2-1 lead before Adams set up Grayson Connors ’08 for the equalizer with just seven seconds remaining in the first quarter.
“It was a sloppy day and they play stingy defense, but it takes a lot more to keep our balls out of the net,” Vitulano said.
The hail began to fall even harder as Wesleyan’s offense sputtered in the second quarter, failing to force the Bowdoin goalie to make a single save. Trailing 3-2 at the half, the Cards played tight defense while the offense got back on track. Chris Jasinski ’08 ended the Wesleyan scoring drought with a goal at the 2:47 mark of the third. Connors put the Cardinals ahead for good with his team-leading 20th goal with one second remaining in the quarter.
“Thanks to a secret play, known as the ‘Cincinnati Bowtie,’ Connors was able to stick the ball right between the Bowdoin pipes to end the third,” said Nate Byer ’06.
Goals from Mike Hines ’07 and tri-captain Jordan Funt ’06 provided insurance as Wesleyan’s zone defense again frustrated its opponent. Led by tri-captain Bob Diehl ’06 and Matt Smith ’06, the zone didn’t allow a goal in the second half, stumping a Bowdoin attack that came in averaging 10.3 goals per game.
“Matt ‘The Hammer’ Smith had an exceptional game, containing anyone who approached his side of the messy zone,” said Mike Walsh ’06. “In essence, ‘The Hammer’ was dropped on Bowdoin’s skull, leaving a sloppy residue behind.”
Congleton also made athletic saves on three Bowdoin breakaways in the fourth quarter, saving one with his stick, stopping another with his foot, and deflecting yet another with his helmet.
With the win, the Cards climbed into a four-way tie for second place behind Bates, which remains undefeated in league play. Despite this clutter at the top of the standings, Wesleyan owns the tie-breaker with both Bowdoin and Middlebury, putting the Cardinals in the driver’s seat to earn a high NESCAC tournament seed. The Cards will look to separate themselves from the pack, though, in the upcoming games.
“The team is playing pretty well,” said Steve Binswanger ’06. “I am looking for some people, namely Jizz [Jasinski] and Field Pool [Field Yates ’09] to step up against Trinity and Amherst because I am getting a little tired of carrying the load every game.”
Wesleyan will hit the road to take on Trinity on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. before playing host to Amherst on Saturday at 1 p.m. in a Little Three match-up.
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