Bowdoin College men’s lacrosse coach Bill Mason said there’s a buzz on campus as the Polar Bears prepare to host the New England Small College Athletic Conference semifinals and finals this weekend.

Top-seeded Bowdoin (15-0, 10-0 NESCAC) faces sixth-seeded Hamilton (9-6, 5-5 NESCAC) in the first semifinal at noon Saturday at Whittier Field in Brunswick. At 3 p.m., second-seeded Tufts (15-1, 9-1) meets fifth-seeded Bates (11-4, 6-4 ). The winners play at noon Sunday for an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament.

Bowdoin seeks its first conference championship since the 2001 Eastern College Athletic Conference title.

“To play for a championship is something that is a goal of this program,” Mason said. “So to know that we’ve put ourselves in striking distance of that, and we’ve done it so that we can play at home for the first time in program history makes it that much more exciting.”

The Polar Bears, ranked No. 1 in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Division III poll, have reached the NCAA semifinals the past two seasons. Last spring, they fell to eventual champion Tufts, 26-11.

Bowdoin earned its biggest victory of the season in the regular-season final on April 22, beating Tufts, 14-12, to snap the Jumbos’ 42-game winning streak. Three days later, the Polar Bears routed Williams, 22-4, in the NESCAC quarterfinals.

“I give the guys a ton of credit; they were able to compartmentalize that (Tufts) win, put it away, and refocus on needing to play our best on Saturday against a hungry, talented Williams team,” Mason said. “Obviously, it helps to be at home, and that’s such a huge advantage for any collegiate team playing at home.”

Bates, meanwhile, is riding a three-game winning streak. The Bobcats earned a spot in the semifinals with a 12-7 win over fourth-seeded Amherst.

“The premier Division III conference in lacrosse, the NESCAC, has two Maine teams in the final four — should be really exciting for lacrosse fans in the state,” Mason said. “Attending this weekend, there’s going to be no fee to get into the games. You’re going to see two incredible lacrosse games on Saturday.”

Bowdoin isn’t the lone Maine men’s Division III team playing a conference championship on its home field this weekend. Maine Maritime Academy is hosting the North Atlantic Conference final four. The Mariners (9-5) face fourth-seeded Thomas (7-7) at 2 p.m. Saturday. Second-seeded Husson (10-4) will play third-seeded SUNY Delhi (6-7) at 4:30 p.m. The championship game is at 3 p.m. Sunday.

St. Joseph’s, meanwhile, has reached the final of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament by pulling off back-to-back upsets as the No. 6 seed. The Monks play Rivier at 2 p.m. Saturday in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Husson, St. Joseph’s women hosting, too

The Husson and St. Joseph’s women’s lacrosse teams will host conference championship games on Saturday.

Husson is the No. 1 seed in the NAC and will face No. 2 Maine Maritime at 4 p.m. The Eagles (10-4) are led by former Hall-Dale standout Averi Baker, who has 37 goals and 27 assists this season. Teammate Kate Boehmcke has 39 goals and 17 assists.

The Mariners (8-4) are led by Bella Scolaro (24 goals, 39 assists) and former Gardiner standout Lillian Diversi (32 goals, 20 assists).

Husson and Maine Maritime played twice in the regular season, and both games were decided by a goal: the Mariners won 12-11 on March 31, while the Eagles took the rematch, 10-9, on April 18.

St. Joseph’s is the No. 1 seed in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference. The Monks (16-3) will play No. 2 Emmanuel (15-4) at noon Saturday.

Oxford Hills graduate Celia Melanson is one point away from 100 for the season (21 goals, 78 assists). Ella Highbarger of Kennebunk has 59 goals and 12 assists.

Saco’s Daphne Blake has 12 goals and seven assists for Emmanuel.

In the Little East Conference final, second-seeded Southern Maine (14-4) will play for the title Saturday at top-seeded Western Connecticut State (14-3). USM set a school record for victories in a season when it beat Eastern Connecticut State 13-6 in a semifinal Thursday night.

Graduate student Katelyn D’Appolonia of Yarmouth leads USM in scoring with 57 goals and 34 assists. Cierra Hill, a senior, and Mariam DeLisle, a freshman from Lincoln Academy, both have 35 goals, graduate student Anna Byers has 34 goals, and junior Eliza Pattershall of Readfield has 33 goals.

Lang garners national honor

Ana Lang became the first Husson softball player to be named National Fastpitch Coaches Association Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday.

Lang earned wins in five of the Eagles’ six games from April 20-28. During that stretch, she struck out 57 and allowed two runs, nine hits and five walks.

The junior is second all-time on the Eagles’ career strikeout list with 524.

Douin one homer away from USM record

Former Cony standout Kyle Douin is tied atop the University of Southern Maine baseball program’s all-time home run list with with 36.

Douin needed 147 games to reach the mark, while Saco’s Cam Seymour (2020-24) did it in 164. Douin hit No. 36 in a 9-8 loss to Bates on Sunday. He leads the Huskies with 11 home runs this season.

USM (25-9) ends its regular season with a doubleheader against Eastern Connecticut State on Friday.