The field hockey team fell to Penn, 4-0, on Saturday in its penultimate game of the season.
The final game atop blustery Warner Roof was a bittersweet experience for seniors Whitney Knowlton '10, Madison Miketa '10 and tri-captains Jackie Connard '10, Nora Malgieri '10 and Michaela Seigo '10.
"We're all really sad that it's ending," Malgieri said. "Having our last home game was really emotional, but we have one more game left."
The Bears (5-11, 0-6 Ivy) held the Quakers (5-10, 2-3) scoreless for 49 minutes before the floodgates opened.
"We all worked really hard and just couldn't make it happen," Malgieri said.
Brown goalie Caroline Washburn '12 was the star of the first half, stopping all seven shots she faced to keep the Quakers off the scoreboard. Malgieri said the defense as a whole had a strong start to the game.
"We were communicating, and everyone was recovering," she said. Washburn "had a lot of really great saves, and Laura Iacovetti ('12) was playing really well, but I don't know — I think we stopped talking and got pretty tired by the end. That's when it kind of fell apart."
Penn scored four goals in the final 21 minutes to pull away.
"That's kind of been our problem all year — we allow those goals to happen," Malgieri said. "It was great that we played so well in the first half, but we need to be able to keep that for 70 minutes."
Penn outshot Brown by a margin of 28-6. Washburn totaled 14 saves, and Abigail Taft '12 came off the bench to lead the Bears with two shots.
Brown will travel to New Haven, Conn. on Saturday to close out the season against Yale (11-5, 5-1). The Bears will need to work hard this week to beat the Bulldogs for the third year in a row.
"We've been talking a lot about being personally accountable for what we're doing on the field," Seigo said. "This week of practice is going to be really hard, physically and mentally."
Malgieri said the team will focus on fundamentals such as communication and "stick-to-stick passing."
"I think we'll be fine for Saturday," she said. "We're all really frustrated with the loss, so we're ready to go into our last game (and play) for a win."
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