The field hockey team came roaring out of the gate to dominate Holy Cross in a 3-2 win on Wednesday in Worcester, Mass. The Bears (4-11) rolled up advantages of 20-6 in shots and 12-7 in penalty corners in their rout of the Crusaders (5-11).
"Right from the first whistle, we came out strong and we really were a dominating team for the entire game," Victoria Sacco '09 said.
Head Coach Tara Harrington '94 said the key to the game was Brown's suffocating full press, led by center midfielder Nora Malgieri '10 and center back Sara Eaton '09.
"They did a very good job of coordinating the pressure (and) communicating where to step up and front," Harrington said.
When the Bears won the ball on the press, they quickly transitioned into a counterattack that Harrington called "explosive." She praised forwards Tacy Zysk '11, who scored two goals, and Leslie Springmeyer '12, who contributed two assists.
It didn't take Bruno long to translate their control of the game into a goal. At only 11:27 minutes, Sacco found the back of the cage on a penalty corner, with the assists going to Springmeyer and Michaela Seigo '10. It marked Sacco's third goal off of a penalty corner in the past four games.
"Vicky Sacco had a really nice shot," Harrington said. "She's been hitting the ball hard and hitting the ball with confidence."
Despite taking 11 shots in the period, the Bears could not find the back of the cage again before halftime. Instead, the Crusaders converted on their lone penalty corner of the half just 5:48 before halftime to tie the game. But the Bears remained undaunted.
"Definitely, going into the half we would have liked to have been in the lead, as opposed to being tied, but I don't think that it hurt us in any way," Sacco said. "If anything, it helped us to come out of the half with a lot more intensity."
Harrington said the team made a few small adjustments at halftime, but the biggest reason for the team's success in the second half was a positive attitude.
"When you're having one of those days where everyone is playing well and implementing the game plan well, it just gives this extra boost of confidence that you know no matter what the scoreboard says, you're going to finish it," she said. "Yesterday was one of those days."
The scoreboard went the right way for Bruno just 10:07 into the second half, when Zysk scored off a pass from Malgieri. 4:05 later, Zysk redirected a shot by Springmeyer into the cage to give Brown a 3-1 lead.
"Both of Tacy Zysk's goals were beautiful," Harrington said. "Her third goal was a deflection, and it was a hard, hard hit ball from Leslie Springmeyer. I'm not really sure how she got a touch on it, but she did, and it was a top-notch goal. Getting those bang-bang-bang was great for our momentum."
But it was not smooth for the Bears down the stretch. With 8:45 remaining in the game, Eaton was given a yellow card, which in field hockey requires a five-minute suspension in which the player must leave and the team must play shorthanded. With five minutes left in the game, the Crusaders cut the lead in half.
"It gets a little scary when you have one less player on the field than the other team," Sacco said. "Holy Cross did take advantage of that fact and was able to get in and really pressure our defensive circle, and they were able to get that goal."
But Harrington said the Bears calmed down when Eaton returned to the game with about three minutes remaining, and they were able to slam the door. Brown goalkeeper Caroline Washburn '12 finished with three saves, while Zysk led the offense with eight shots.
The Bears will need the momentum from this win to carry over to Sunday, when they travel to Philadelphia to take on the Penn Quakers (5-10, 3-2 Ivy League). The Bears will shoot for their first conference win in their final road game of the season.
"We're definitely taking this win and keeping ourselves pumped up for the game this weekend, taking that intensity into the game against Penn," Sacco said. "I think we're all really ready to buckle down and get an Ivy League win."
