AMHERST, Mass. – Polar Bears sophomore attack Sophia Sudano scored four goals to lead Bowdoin College to an 11-9 win over the Amherst College women's lacrosse team on Saturday afternoon in a NESCAC clash of nationally ranked foes on Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium. The Mammoths rallied from a four-goal deficit to tie the game in the third quarter but the Polar Bears reclaimed the lead and escaped with the win.

The Polar Bears, ranked 16th in the nation in the latest ILWomen/IWLCA Division III Poll, improved to 7-3 overall and 2-3 in NESCAC play, while the 19th-ranked Mammoths saw their six-game winning streak snapped and fell to 6-2 overall and 1-2 in conference play.

The Mammoths are back in action on Wednesday (April 6), hosting Little Three rival Wesleyan, ranked 11th in the nation, for a NESCAC matchup on Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* The Polar Bears scored the first two goals of the game to establish their lead early as Sudano and junior midfielder Sophia Schaefer scored in the first quarter. The Mammoths got on the board with 34 seconds left in the first when first-year midfielder Lauren Friedman scored her team-leading 20th goal of the season.

* The Polar Bears extended their lead in the second quarter despite Amherst goals from first-year midfielder Rachel Rogers and senior captain Becky Kendall with Sudano scoring twice more. Sudano scored twice more in the second and Bowdoin held a 6-3 lead at halftime.

* After junior attack Colleen McAloon opened the third-quarter scoring for the Polar Bears, the Mammoths strung together a stretch of four answered goals to tie the score. Kendall scored her second of the game before senior attack Marina Bevacqua took over, scoring the next three goals in the game to lift the Mammoths from a three-goal deficit to a 7-7 tie when she leveled the score with 16 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

* The Polar Bears quickly reclaimed the lead as Schaefer slipped in her second goal of the game with two seconds on the clock in the third quarter. After Sudano scored to open the fourth, junior midfielder Fiona Jones netted her sixth goal of the season to bring the Mammoths back within one with 3:36 to go. McAloon then restored a two-goal lead for Bowdoin and junior midfielder Fiona Bundy added her second of the game with 45 seconds to go. Junior attack Kendyl Stewart scored her first goal of the season with two seconds to go in the game and the clock ran out on the Mammoths.

BY THE NUMBERS:

* Bevacqua led the Amherst scorers with her first career hat trick and has scored multiple goals in each of the three games she has played since making her season debut a week ago.

* Kendall netted multiple goals for the third straight game and extended her goal-scoring streak to 13 games dating back to the start of the abbreviated 2020 season.

* Junior goalie Izzy Cisneros made eight saves in 45 minutes of action to earn the win for the Polar Bears before first-year Sophie Brett came on to play the final quarter. Amherst senior Caroline Fischer made a career-high eight saves for the second straight game.

* The Polar Bears outshot the Mammoths, 31-19, and held a 19-18 edge in shots on goal.

* Ground balls were even at 15-15. Sophomore defender Grace Wyckoff tallied four ground balls and two caused turnovers for the Mammoths, while Bundy recorded five ground balls and four caused turnovers for the Polar Bears.

* Two Hampshire County natives helped power the Polar Bears as Easthampton's Bundy and Northampton's Schaefer each scored twice for Bowdoin.