The women’s soccer team (3-1, 0-0 Ivy) opened its 2017 season strong by winning three of its first four games.
Brown 2, Maine 1 F/OT
A pair of solid performances from rookies Star White ’21 and Zeinab Kante ’21 fueled the Bears to an overtime victory in its season opener Aug. 25.
Kante scored the golden goal in the 98th minute, launching a shot into the back of the net from just outside the box.
“Scoring that goal felt like a championship win,” Kante said. She was later named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for her performance. “Everyone got up on their feet celebrating, and it felt really nice, but also, I had to remember to not let that get to my head — that was literally my first game and first goal.”
White’s 82nd-minute equalizer had sent the teams into overtime deadlocked at one. White and Kante registered an assist on each other’s goals.
Brown peppered the Maine goal with shots, accruing ten to the Black Bears’ three.
Brown 3, Rhode Island 2 F/2OT
Two days after its season-opening win, Brown faced off with Rhode Island in an in-state rivalry match.
Celia Story ’19 led Bruno with a pair of goals, including the game-winner in double overtime.
Story converted a penalty kick in the 104th minute after Rhode Island matched Brown’s early lead in the first half.
Veteran goalkeeper and 2016 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Christine Etzel ’18 made eight saves in the matchup, blocking back-to-back shots on a breakaway and corner kick four minutes into play.
Brown 4, Hartford 0
Veteran Mikela Waldman ’18 posted her first career hat trick as Bruno earned its first shutout at Hartford Aug. 31.
“All the goals that we scored that game were really team goals,” Waldman said. “They were all really good buildup plays. … Jennifer Caruso ’19 did a really good job of getting the ball on the line and getting it to the middle, and it made it easy for me to tap the ball in.”
Abby Carchio ’20 added a goal in the 34th minute as Brown’s offense dominated the field. Bruno doubled Hartford’s shot total, eight to four.
In net, Etzel shared her first season shutout with Rylee Shumway ’18.
Brown 1, Vermont 2 F/OT
Despite outshooting the host Catamounts 13-11, the Bears were unable to capitalize as the team’s winning streak came to an end in overtime.
Caruso scored Bruno’s lone goal of the evening, slipping a left-footed shot past the goalkeeper in the 72nd minute.
“Our team still hasn’t really found the fluidity yet that is going to come in the rest of the season even though we’ve gotten good results the first four games,” Waldman said. “It’s really good to be able to get those results early on, but I still think our team is very much aware that we haven’t played anywhere close to our potential.”
The squad will seek to build on the successes of the 2016 season, which resulted in a second-place conference finish.
“Last year (Brown) came really close to being first place, so this year, as a team, we have to prove ourselves,” Kante said. “It’s nice coming in that everyone believes that we’re going to be winning this year — it’s a lot of pressure on the freshmen coming in, but it’s a good thing.”
Brown hosts Providence College at 7 p.m. Thursday at Stevenson-Pincince Field before Lafayette comes to town Sunday.
