The field hockey team endured a frustrating defeat on Sunday afternoon at Warner Roof, falling 2-0 to Lehigh University. The Bears were unable to put goals on the board for the third straight game despite outshooting their opponent 30-8. The loss drops the team to 1-3 (0-1 Ivy) on the year.
The Bears were a different team than the one that was overmatched offensively and managed just five shots on goal against Sacred Heart on Sept. 14. Brown tested Lehigh goalie Meghan Gove early and often, dissecting the defense with sharp passing and an intense offensive pressure that yielded 12 penalty corners and 21 shots in the first half alone. The offense was led by captains Kristen Vincent '06 and Brooke Townsend '06, who combined for nine shots, one more than the entire Lehigh attack.
Gove was up to the challenge, however, making stop after stop en route to an 18-save day and a shutout.
"Their goalkeeper was just outstanding today," said Head Coach Carolan Norris. "She made three really big saves and their defenders made two more huge plays, all of which I thought could have been goals. We had a tremendous amount of opportunities off our attack and corners, but we just couldn't capitalize. Today we outshot them, but we couldn't catch a break. That's field hockey."
Most of the team agreed, and the players remain confident. "We are becoming much more poised now that we're getting the hang of playing together," said Tracy Dungo '07. "It's all about keeping at it. This is a funny sport sometimes. The goals will start to come."
Midway through the first period, Brown's defense relaxed for just a moment, allowing a Mountain Hawk centering pass to get through to an open Marissa Iannarone, who scored the first of her two goals on the day. A second goal was scored minutes later at the 30:28 mark. It was only the third shot of the day by Lehigh, further emphasizing the fact that Brown was dominating the game on both ends despite the score.
"They were both defensive breakdowns. They were just able to take advantage of our mistakes," Norris said.
The Bears outshot Lehigh again in the second half. Samantha Lloyd '07 and Sara Eaton '09 each provided outstanding offensive energy. It was Eaton who had perhaps Brown's best look of the day, firing an open shot from within 10 yards of the goal that was kicked away by Gove.
"Their goalie was just on today," Eaton said.
Norris pointed to pressure on the opposing defense in the attacking half as one area in which the team needed improvement, but she was pleased with the offensive effort overall. "I saw some great things today," she said. "We'll move on from here."
The Bears look to salvage the fifth and final game of their home stand on Wednesday against the University of Rhode Island on Warner Roof at 4 p.m.
