The field hockey team extended both its losing and scoreless streaks to two games on Wednesday afternoon, falling to Sacred Heart University, 3-0 at Warner Roof. The game was marked by three second-half goals by the Pioneers as well as the Bears' inability to capitalize on their scoring opportunities. Brown fell to 1-2 (0-1 Ivy) on the season.
Since winning the season opener over the University of Vermont in overtime on Sept. 4, the offense has failed to find the net in 140 minutes of play. But Head Coach Carolan Norris does not blame solely the offense for the losses. "I don't think we played well at all," she said. "We tried to play as 11 individuals rather than as a team."
The first half came and went without any scoring despite numerous quality chances for both teams. The half featured seven penalty corners, four by Sacred Heart, none of which yielded a goal. Most of the first 35 minutes were played on Brown's defensive half of the field, as Brown was outshot 9-7.
It was Brown, however, that had the game's first great look on net. A crossing pass skipped by Sacred Heart's defenders all the way to the right side of the net where a Brown attacker found herself alone with space and time to shoot. But Pioneer goalie Ashley Del Greco made a huge save and preserved the scoreless tie.
Goalie Kristen Hodavance '08 answered with a spectacular save of her own when a Brown defensive lapse led to a two-on-none breakaway with only minutes remaining in the half. Opting to shoot rather than risk a pass, the Sacred Heart forward fired a shot at the charging Hodavance, who sprawled out to make the impressive stop.
Two and a half minutes into the second half, Sacred Heart finally found the back of the net on the first of two goals by Jenna McLane. Her goal gave the team momentum it did not relinquish for the rest of the contest. Minutes later a crossing pass was deflected into the back of the net to increase Sacred Heart's lead to two.
Brown made several attempts to cut the lead in half. Ani Kazarian '08 made a nice move to separate herself from a defender and give herself room to shoot, but her attempt sailed wide of the net. Minutes later, after one of Brown's best offensive sets of the day, the Bears managed a shot on goal, followed by a deflection towards the net and another quick shot on the open goal that just missed, clanging off the side of the net. Later, a potential breakaway was broken up from behind only yards away from the goal, deflating the team's hopes for a comeback.
Sacred Heart provided the nail in the coffin with its third goal at the 51:30 mark. Minutes later, the Bears pulled goalie Hodavance in order to give junior Evelyn Brosi some time in the net.
The loss was particularly disappointing because it was Sacred Heart's first win in eight games this season.
Despite the loss, the team is not short on optimism. Libbie Fritz '06 said of the squad, "We just need to play as a team and remember how good we are. We have the skill. We just need to put it all together in the games."
Norris agreed, pointing to great practices that give the team hope for better days to come. "We're a lot better than this, we've just yet to actually perform on gameday." The coach also pointed to several bright spots, including the much-improved play of starters Tracy Dungo '07 and Samantha Lloyd '07 and the solid performance of Sandhya Dhir '08 off the bench.
The Bears look to rebound Sunday as they take on Lehigh University at noon on Warner Roof.
