HADLEY, Mass. - With a perfect 9-0 conference mark, Bowdoin College, the two-time defending NESCAC Field Hockey Champions, has earned the number-one seed and a first round bye in the 2007 NESCAC Field Hockey Championship. The Polar Bears will host the semifinals and championship for the third year in a row next weekend in Brunswick, Maine. First round action for the seven-team tournament begins tomorrow at Tufts, Middlebury and Williams at 1:00 p.m. Bowdoin will take on the lowest seeded team remaining after first round action on Saturday, Nov. 3 in the first semifinal at 11:00 a.m. The 2007 NESCAC Field Hockey Championship concludes on Sunday, Nov. 4, with the final taking place at 12:00 p.m.

Bowdoin (14-0, 9-0 NESCAC) wrapped up the top seed with two weeks still remaining in the regular season on Oct. 13 thanks to an 8-0 win over Connecticut College. The Polar Bears, who closed out the season on Saturday with a 2-0 win over Wesleyan, have employed a powerful combination of offensive attack and stellar defense this season en route to the number one seed. The Bowdoin offense averaged 4.36 goals per game heading into this weekend with a scoring margin of 4.28, both league-leading numbers. Defensively, the Polar Bears have been a brick wall, allowing only one goal over 14 games this season, the lone goal allowed coming during a 2-1 win at Tufts on Oct. 6. Bowdoin leads the nation in goals against average with a miniscule 0.08 mark, and defense has been the hallmark of Bowdoin's two previous championship runs, having not allowed a goal in their last four tournament games.

Second-seeded Tufts (11-3, 7-2 NESCAC) entered the weekend knowing it would host a first round game on Sunday, however a 5-1 victory at Connecticut College on Saturday guaranteed the Jumbos the best finish in the NESCAC standings in program history. Although Tufts and Middlebury tied in the standings, the Jumbos 3-1 win over the Panthers on Sept. 15 gave Tufts the head-to-head tie-breaker. The Jumbos head into Sunday's first round contest riding a six-game winning streak, out-scoring opponents 22-3 during that stretch. Tufts will host seventh-seeded Wesleyan (7-7, 3-6 NESCAC) in the first round of the tournament, as the Cardinals already knew prior to Saturday's game at Bowdoin that they had secured the final spot in this year's championship. After going 1-4 over its first five games of the season, Wesleyan broke out with a six game winning streak before Tufts snapped the streak with a 2-0 win over the Cardinals on Oct. 17, the only regular season meeting between the two teams. Sunday's match-up will be the fourth first round game in championship history between the two squads. Tufts holds a slim 2-1 advantage all-time in tournament play over Wesleyan, however the Cardinals won the previous playoff match-up 1-0 in 2005.

Third-seeded Middlebury's (11-3, 7-2 NESCAC) first round opponent will be a very familiar sixth-seeded Trinity (8-6, 4-5 NESCAC), as the Panthers closed out the season with a 5-1 win over the Bantams in Hartford on Saturday. Middlebury, which last won the NESCAC Championship in 2003, enters the playoffs having won six of its last seven games, while Trinity is 4-4 over its last eight, falling in its last four games. The Bantams, making their third championship appearance in the last four years, will face the Panthers for the first time in tournament history on Sunday. Middlebury is 3-1 all-time in first round games, while Trinity is 0-2.

The final first round match-up will feature fourth-seeded Williams (8-6, 5-4 NESCAC) hosting fifth-seeded Amherst (8-6, 4-5 NESCAC) for the second year in a row. These two NESCAC rivals faced each other on the final day of the regular season with the Ephs upending the Jeffs by a 3-0 score. After starting the season with five consecutive wins, Williams hit a rough patch midway through the season, going 2-6 before snapping a three-game losing streak with Saturday's win. Amherst has had an inconsistent season to date, putting together no more than two wins at a time but also not falling in more than two consecutive games, with the Jeffs going 4-4 in their last eight games. The pairing of both teams in this year's tournament mirrors the 2006 championship, as Williams moved past Amherst 5-1 on the final day of the regular season only to witness the Jeffs travel to Williamstown and come up with a 1-0 win over the Ephs. Sunday's meeting will be the fourth in playoff history between the two squads, with Williams holding a slim 2-1 advantage over Amherst.

2007 NESCAC FIELD HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP
First Round - Sunday, October 28 at Higher Seeds
No. 7 Wesleyan at No. 2 Tufts - 1:00 p.m.
No. 6 Trinity at No. 3 Middlebury - 1:00 p.m.
No. 5 Amherst at No. 4 Williams - 1:00 p.m.

Semifinals - Saturday, November 3 at Bowdoin
No. 1 Bowdoin vs. lowest remaining seed - 11:00 a.m.
Remaining first round winners - 1:30 p.m.

Championship - Sunday, November 4 at Bowdoin
Semifinal winners - 12:00 p.m.