ROCHESTER, N.Y. - For the first time in school history, the Bowdoin College men's lacrosse team will play for a trip to the national championship game. The Polar Bears scored six unanswered goals in the fourth quarter to take a 12-7 NCAA quarterfinal win over Middlebury on Saturday afternoon in Rochester, N.Y.
 
The Polar Bears (14-5) will battle the Tigers (20-2) at 3:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon for a trip to the Division III title game in Philadelphia, Pa., on May 26. The Panthers end their season with a record of 12-8.
 
Game Highlights

• The teams traded goals in the opening half of a tightly-played contest as the familiar squads faced each other for the third time this season.
• A low-scoring opening half saw the Panthers take a slim 5-4 edge into halftime following a Patrick Jamin goal in the final minutes before the break.
• As has been their trend in the NCAA Tournament, Bowdoin's defense dominated from there, holding Middlebury to one goal over a 31:30 span, covering the end of the first half until the final minute of regulation.
• The Polar Bears found their footing offensively as their defense clamped down, as Matt Ward and Liam Tasker notched third quarter scores to give Bowdoin its first lead of the contest, 6-5, heading into the fourth.
• After a Middlebury goal knotted the score at 6-6 early in the final quarter, Jason Lach took over, scoring three straight goals to give Bowdoin a 9-6 cushion.
• Sam Raye-Steiner and Casey Ryan followed with goals of their own before Lach scored again to cap a decisive 6-0 Polar Bear run that pushed the lead to 12-6 with 90 seconds to play.

By The Numbers

• Lach matched his season high with a five-goal effort, propelling the Bowdoin offense. Matt Ward had a goal and four assists in the win.
• Ethan Barnard won 14 of 20 faceoffs, including a 7-2 advantage in the fourth quarter as Bowdoin pulled away.
• Bowdoin's defense was led by eight saves from Robert Hobbs and stellar individual efforts from Harp Lane, who had three caused turnovers, and Alex Byrne, who had two caused turnovers and five ground balls.
• Will Byrne added a goal and two assists while Sam Raye-Steiner notched a pair of scores.
• Bowdoin owned a 38-27 advantage in shots in the contest and held Middlebury to 0-3 with the extra-man advantage.
• The teams had split their previous two meetings this season, with Bowdoin winning 16-10 on March 9 and the Panthers claiming a 17-9 win on May 4.

Up Next

• Bowdoin will be making their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division III semifinals on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. when they play RIT. The Tigers defeated Christopher Newport in their quarterfinal match Saturday 19-15. It will be the second meeting all-time between the schools, who last played in the 2022 NCAA Quarterfinals (a 20-14 RIT win).