WATERVILLE, Maine -- The Bowdoin College Men's Soccer team got two goals from junior Jeremy Smith (Brookline, Mass./Milton Academy) as the Polar Bears escaped Waterville with a 2-1 victory over Colby College on a brisk Tuesday afternoon. The win improves Bowdoin's record to 11-2-0, tying the school record for victories in a season. The Polar Bears will have an opportunity to break the record when they host Bates in their season finale this Saturday.
Both teams had several scoring opportunities in the first half, but Bowdoin's Tom Casarella (Ashford, Conn./E.O. Smith) and Colby's Justin Amirault (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) were solid in net, sending the game into halftime tied at 0-0.
Smith put Bowdoin on the board just four minutes into the second half as he redirected a shot from Tim Capozzi (Massillon, Ohio/Central Catholic) into the back of the net to give the Polar Bears a 1-0 advantage. The helper was the team's 37th of the year, breaking the school's all-time record for assists in a season. After Casarella made several outstanding saves at the other end, Smith struck again, chipping a high, arching shot over the head of Amirault to give Bowdoin the 2-0 edge at the 59-minute mark.
Things stayed that way until Ross McEwen (Littleton, Colo./Westminster School) took a perfect pass from Matt Williams (Cape Elizabeth, Me./Cape Elizabeth) and hammered it home to pull the White Mules to within one with 2:44 remaining in the game. Just seconds after play resumed, Colby's pressure defense caused a Polar Bear turnover, and senior Mark Melander (Bowdoinham, Me./Mt. Ararat) found himself one-on-one with Casarella right in front of the Bowdoin net. Melander blasted a shot at the bottom right corner, but the Polar Bear goalie made an incredible diving save to preserve the lead and the win. Casarella finished the game with a total of nine saves.
Despite the loss, Amirault was once again solid in net, making six stops for Colby. The White Mules now await their post-season fate after finishing the regular season with a record of 8-5-1.
Bowdoin 2, Colby 1 1st 2nd Bowdoin (11-2-0) 0 2 - 2 Colby (8-5-1) 0 1 - 1 Scoring 1st Half No goals 2nd Half B - Jeremy Smith (Tim Capozzi) 48:52 B - Smith (unassisted) 59:04 C - Ross McEwen (Matt Williams) 87:16 Shots - Bowdoin 13, Colby 13 Goalie saves - Bowdoin, Tom Casarella 9; Colby, Justin Amirault 6 Corners - Bowdoin 4, Colby 3
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