In the first half of its game on Wednesday, the field hockey team had trouble finishing its scoring opportunities. The second period, however, was a completely different story. Brown erupted for four second-half goals on its way to a 4-2 victory at home over the University of Rhode Island to move to 4-1 on the year.
After the missed opportunities of the first half, Brown elevated its level of play in the second half. The team's increased aggression led to a 16-6 advantage in second-half shots. Eventually, the team's pressure broke down the Rhode Island defense. Andrea Posa '08 scored Brown's first two goals, and Stacy Gugliotta '07 and Sandhya Dhir '08 chipped in with a goal apiece.
"We did a much better job in the second half," said Rebecca Mondics '07. "We were better at stepping up and intercepting passes in the back, and the forwards were more aggressive in the circle."
Head Coach Carolan Norris was also far happier with her team's second-half play. "At halftime I challenged our upperclassmen, and we responded," said Norris. "We sometimes have an explosive attack, and in the second half it showed up."
A large factor in Brown's turnaround was its ability to draw penalty corners. The team was awarded 10 corners in the second half, which was double its first-half total. It was off of those corners that Brown finally broke through the Rams' backline in the 41st and 50th minutes, thanks to Posa.
"Both of my goals were on deflections," Posa said. "I was in the right place at the right time. They were great feeds and pretty goals."
For Posa, the team's leading scorer, the tallies were her fourth and fifth goals of the season, and she has scored a goal in four of the team's five games.
Though the goals gave Bruno the cushion it could not find in the first half, Rhode Island refused to go away. The Rams used some tight passing in the circle to put one past goalie Kristin Hodavance '08 at the 55-minute mark. However, Bruno replied just five minutes later when Stacy Gugliotta '07 powered home a pinpoint pass from Sara Eaton '09.
When Rhode Island scored its final goal with less than five minutes remaining to slice the deficit to one again, forward Sandhya Dhir '08 sealed the game for the Bears. After being kept in check the entire game, Dhir put together a goal worthy of the highlight reel just 45 seconds after URI's tally. Dhir received the ball at the top of the Rams' circle and dribbled past two defenders. After pushing the ball to her left side, she slapped a diving shot into the corner of the cage. Dhir's impressive goal helped stifle the Rams' comeback attempt.
"We've done that in two games this year," said Norris. "It's a good thing that we have the ability to bounce back."
Though the Bears broke out in the second half, the team struggled in the first period of play. The teams were deadlocked at 0-0 going into halftime. Both squads' scoring opportunities were few and far between.
"We came out flat," Posa said. "We weren't supporting each other. We were lucky we had the opportunity to turn it around in the second half."
Norris agreed that the team's first half left much to be desired.
"We didn't play well at all (in the first half)," she said. "We were slow and we crowded the ball. I give URI a lot of credit. ... They made things difficult for us."
The team must maintain the level of play it exhibited in the second half against the Rams in Saturday's home game against Harvard. Though Harvard is winless on the season, Posa doesn't feel that the Bears can take their next opponent lightly.
"We're expecting Harvard to be strong," she said. "Their record doesn't show how good they are."
