The women's soccer team bid farewell to the class of 2011 and wrapped up its season on a chilly Saturday afternoon at Stevenson Field. Bruno (7-6-4, 1-4-2 Ivy League) dropped its final game, 2-1, to Yale (8-8-1, 3-4-0), but not before sending off the five seniors — co-captain midfielder Gina Walker '11, co-captain back Charlotte Rizzi '11, forward Joyce Chun '11, midfielder Katie Gannett '11 and forward Erika Lum '11 — in fitting fashion.
Head Coach Phil Pincince included all five seniors in the starting lineup, and the gesture did not go unnoticed.
"It was awesome," Rizzi said. "And we all played great. It was cool — there was a definite feeling of solidarity."
But the Bulldogs spoiled the party early in the first half. Forward Becky Brown sent a beautiful through ball past two Bruno defenders into the path of forward Kristen Forster. Forster entered the penalty box with a step on the closest defender and spun a shot past a diving Amber Bledsoe '14 into the right corner of the net to grab a 1-0 lead.
The Bears almost responded in the 18th minute. Midfielder Gloria Chun '12 curled a corner kick onto the head of forward Eliza Marshall '13, who redirected it just over the crossbar. The ball fell onto the top of the net, keeping Yale ahead by one.
But Bruno equalized on its second corner kick of the game, with help from two members of the senior class. After Joyce Chun created the corner kick opportunity, her sister Gloria kicked the ball into the middle of the box and Walker eventually headed it to midfielder Sarah Hebert-Seropian '12. Hebert-Seropian headed it past Yale goalie Ayana Sumiyasu to notch her first goal of the year.
With 12 minutes remaining in the first half, the first senior came off the field for the final time. Gannett was subbed out for forward Emily Wingrove '14 and heard loud cheers from her supporters in the stands.
"I was so happy that so many of my family and friends were able to be there," Gannett said. "It really made it an incredible feeling to feel like I was ending on an exciting note."
After a halftime ceremony honoring the seniors and their attending parents, the Bears came out firing in the second half. They outshot the Elis 10-3, but were unable to put in the go-ahead goal. Less than three minutes before the final whistle, Yale forward Mary Kubiuk took a pass from midfielder Enma Mullo and beat goalkeeper MC Barrett '14.
The game marked Brown's first home loss of the season, but the graduating players looked beyond the final result after the game.
"It was bittersweet," Rizzi said. "Soccer has been my major commitment for the past four years."
Gannett also reflected on the entirety of her soccer career after the final whistle had been blown.
"The group of girls on the soccer team, it's been incredible to play with all of them," Gannett said. "And I just think that being on a team like that is something I'll never forget… I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to have been part of this group."
