The women's soccer team once again failed to string together a pair of wins. Brown fell to the Columbia Lions, 2-1, in overtime on Saturday night at home. With the arrival of Ivy League competition, losses come at a higher price and effect greater disappointment.
That disappointment is highlighted by the fact that the Bears were competitive throughout the entire game. But coming out of this weekend's game, Brown is 1-1-0 against their fellow Ivy Leaguers.
"It's a shame because I was happy with the way we played," said tri-captain goalkeeper Brenna Hogue '10.
The Bears were put into a 1-0 hole early in the game. With just 18:34 elapsed, the Lions scored on a deceiving shot from the left of the box. The goal came when Columbia forward Sophie Reiser bent a cross through the box so that it hit the far side of the net.
Less than two minutes later, Bruno nearly capitalized on a corner kick by Silvia Stone '11, but the resulting header was unsuccessful.
The rest of the first half proceeded in much the same fashion, without Brown capitalizing on its opportunities after holding a 9-4 advantage in first half shots, culminating in only a 2-2 tie in shots on goal going into halftime.
"I think the team showed a lot of character in battling back from 0-1," said Head Coach Phil Pincince. The team managed to not put their "head in the sand."
This perseverance was carried into the game's second half. While Columbia's offense had more chances at Brown's net, Hogue made six of her seven total saves in the second half, the first of which came fewer than three minutes into the half on a diving one-handed save to keep the score at 1-0.
Hogue left her feet to keep the Lions from scoring again in the 75th and 77th minutes of the game.
It was not until the 72nd minute that the Bears knotted the score at 1-1 with a goal by Kate Scott '11. Alex Michael '09 took a corner kick that could not be cleared and when the attempt by Melissa Kim '10 was blocked, Scott got the rebound at the top of the box and scored.
From this point on, however, the Bears could not put the game away. The team stayed on the offensive with several close attempts by tri-captain Lindsay Cunningham '09 and Sarah Hebert-Seropian '12, but the second half concluded with the score tied.
The teams took the field minutes later for overtime, but the game was brought to an abrupt close when Columbia scored the winning goal about five minutes into the period.
A cross from the right sent the ball to the box, where Lions' forward Ashiln Yahr collected it and scored. Despite Brown's competitive play throughout the 95-minute game, their record receives another tally in the loss column.
Pincince said he was "very proud of how the team played. They left everything out on the field."
"We played a good game and things just didn't go our way," Hogue said.
Such sentiments may derive from a controversial non-call that ultimately had an impact on the result of this match between conference rivals.
Some on the field said that prior to the final cross by Columbia's forward, the ball had gone out of bounds.
"The ball was out of bounds," Pincince said, while gesticulating a distance approximately a meter wide. "The goal wouldn't have been scored. I can't wait to see the tape."
No matter what the tape shows, the women's soccer team is moving on, focusing on their next opponent.
The Bears will host Bryant on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. with the hopes of closing their three-game homestand with a win.
