BRUNSWICK — The Bowdoin College women’s soccer team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament last season.

This year, the Polar Bears, under second-year coach Brianne Weaver, want more.

So far, so good as Bowdoin improved to 3-0 with a 1-0 conference win over rival Bates College on Wednesday at Pickard Field.

The Polar Bears improved to 3-0 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference as well, while the Bobcats dropped to 3-2 overall, 1-2 in the NESCAC.

“We are happy with the result, and the team worked hard to earn it, but it showed that we have some areas that we need to get stronger,” said Weaver, whose squad returns to action Saturday at Middlebury (11 a.m.). “Confidence-wise, 3-0 is a great place to be, but it is also a dangerous place. We don’t want to say ‘we are really good and we don’t need to work.’ I don’t think this team is like that.”

The lone goal of the contest came from the foot of junior Kiersten Turner.

“Abby (Einwag) flicked the ball up over the defenders and I went to goal and was able to cut it to the corner,” said Turner of her goal that came with 18:08 remaining in the first half. “We are feeling really good. We work hard in practice and want to play harder every game. We need to keep pushing ourselves and working on our possession game.”

Bowdoin control

Bowdoin did a good job pinning the Bobcats deep in their defensive zone. The Polar Bears outshot Bates, 19-7, and held a 6-0 edge in corner kicks, with midfielders Demi Feder, Nikki Wilson, Evan Fencik and Jamie Hofstetter cutting the field in half.

“They pin you in and they have a lot of speed up top, and when you can’t win balls out of the back, they get in behind us and finish,” said Bates coach Kelsy Ross, whose Bobcats host Wesleyan on Saturday at 11 a.m. “We’re doing a much better job this year of looking for our offense. Tonight, we were too content with taking shots from 30 yards out instead of trying to get in behind them and move their goaltender.

“But, it was encouraging to see them work hard and stay with it throughout the game.”

Bowdoin had several chances early to jump ahead, with Turner just missing on a nice cross from Brigit Bergin, and Bergin having her low, hard shot gathered in by Bobcats netminder Alyssa Morgosh, who had six saves.

Bates registered its first shot on Bowdoin goaltender Bridget McCarthy (five saves) midway through the first half, with Hannah Behringer finding rare space and time in the Polar Bear defense

Turner felt Bates’ size in the defensive end was difficult to adjust to.

“They are hard under pressure and pretty physical, something we are not used to,” said Turner of Bates’ defense of Rebecca Titcomb, Caitrin Griffin, Maggie Coco, Kyla Rabb and former Brunswick High School standout Allison Hill, who spent of the majority of the game battling Bowdoin forwards one-on-one.

“Allison is a competitor, also runs very competitively for indoor and outdoor track teams, and having a full year of college athletics under her belt has made her much more valuable as a sophomore,” said Ross. “She just gets the game, having played for Seacoast United.”

Hill, moments after receiving a yellow card, collided with a Bowdoin forward in front of the Bobcats goal. She received a large cut on her forehead, forcing Hill to leave the game with 16:12 remaining in regulation.

Bates pushed forward over the final 10 minutes, looking for the equalizer, but the Bowdoin defense kept the Bobcats from generating a solid scoring opportunity.

“We would like it to be a bit sharper, but they worked hard enough to get what we needed,” said Weaver. “They understand what it takes to get to the end of the season and go where they want to go. They are working really hard to achieve their goals, but we are not looking that far ahead. We are only looking at that next game.”

Bowdoin is the No. 19-ranked team according to the NSCAA Division III poll. The Polar Bears improved to 37-10-2 all-time against Bates and are unbeaten in their last 10 meeting with the Bobcats (9-0-1) dating back to 2005.

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