Field Hockey Advances to NESCAC Semifinals With 2-0 Win Over Wesleyan

10/31/2026 | Field Hockey | Box Score

BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Bowdoin field hockey team used a pair of first quarter goals to secure a 2-0 victory over Wesleyan and advance to the NESCAC Semifinals.

The Polar Bears extend their season with a 13-3 record after earning the three seed in the conference tournament. The Cardinals sit at 10-6 after securing the six seed for the NESCAC tournament. The two teams had not faced off in the postseason since 2005. Bowdoin won the regular season matchup 2-1.

Game Highlights

Hannah Balmelli nearly put Bowdoin on the board six minutes into the first quarter with a quick, point-blank, turnaround shot that Keira O’Flynn turned away off a kicker.
Bowdoin solved the defense at 9:26 on a corner. Ella Davies swept the ball from the top of the circle and Emily Ferguson made a diving play to tip the ball past O’Flynn.
The Polar Bears carried the offensive momentum with a second goal one minute later. Katie Athanasoulas took a shot from just outside the circle. The Wesleyan defense stood back to let the ball into the cage without being touched, looking for a 16 yard hit coming out, but Charlotte Crawford stepped in. Crawford stuck with the play and came in behind the defense to deflect the ball before it crossed the goal line and register a tally.
Eva Filipponi made a pair of key saves in the final minutes of the second quarter to keep Bowdoin ahead. Emily Smith drew Filipponi to the right post and forced the junior to stack and deflect a shot, but the resulting rebound allowed a second bid from Eve Rutman. Rutman’s shot went toward the far top corner of the Bowdoin net and Filiponni made a stick save to deflect the ball away.
Bowdoin survived three Wesleyan corners to close out the first half.
With Wesleyan up two field players in the final minutes of the game, Filiponni again made a big blocker save to preserve the shutout.

By The Numbers

Wesleyan had a 14-2 edge in penalty corners and 16-7 overall shots advantage.
The Cardinals held a narrow 8-7 shots on goal advantage over Bowdoin.
Filipponi made seven saves in the shutout, aided by an Athanasoulas defensive save.
O’Flynn made five stops for Wesleyan.
Wesleyan averaged scoring 2.4 goals per game in NESCAC play and allowed just 1.3 goals per game in conference action.
Bowdoin returns to the NESCAC Semifinals for the first time since 2021.

Up Next

Bowdoin will battle Middlebury in the NESCAC Semifinals at 1:30 pm on November 7 at top-seeded Tufts.