In an exciting finish to the women's soccer team's season and its seniors' careers at Brown, the Bears (7-6-4, 3-3-1 Ivy) pulled off a win in the closing minutes of overtime, defeating Yale (8-7-2, 2-4-1 Ivy) by a score of 2-1. Saturday night's victory snaps a four-year losing streak against Yale, with Brown's last win against the Bulldogs coming in 2003.
Entering the game, the two teams had identical Ivy records. A game-winning goal by Sylvia Stone '11 moved the Bears into fourth place in the final Ivy standings.
"It was really significant," said tri-captain Lindsay Cunningham '09. "(Head) Coach (Phil Pincince) had told us that winning this game would put us in the top half of the Ivy League. Yale had the same record as us and we had never beaten Yale in my four years at Brown, so it was pretty cool."
On an emotional night for the team, the Bears said goodbye to the Class of 2009. Six seniors took the field with their families before the game as they were honored for their careers.
"It was very surreal," Jamie Mize '09 said, "but also nice to know that my family still supported me through all these years, and it was a nice way of ending my career. ... The win was just an add-on, but it was amazing to end on a win."
With the beginning of the game came wet and rainy conditions, leading to cautious play by both teams. At the 11:34 mark, however, Yale took a 1-0 lead with the game's second shot. Tri-captain goalkeeper Brenna Hogue '10 came off of her line to stop the shot, but coming from 20 yards out, it was lofted over her head and into the net.
The Bears and the Bulldogs both had several quality opportunities throughout the rest of the first half. Hogue recorded three more saves, maintaining the 1-0 deficit, and with less than two minutes remaining in the half, she was injured while making two incredible back-to-back saves. After a twenty-minute cessation in play during which Hogue was tended to by medical staff, Steffi Yellin '10 replaced Hogue in goal.
The second half witnessed increased intensity from the Bears, who had a 12-7 shot advantage. With just under six minutes left in the second half, Stone tied the game with a header into the net that came off a cross from Cunningham.
Two overtime periods ensued, during which Yellin came off her line multiple times. Her daring play managed to stop multiple Yale scoring threats in both the first and second overtimes, in addition to her three saves from the second half. Stone finished off the Bulldogs with less than three minutes left in the game, with a corner kick that deflected off a Yale defender and ricocheted into the goal.
On the season, Brown improved upon its record from last year (6-10-1, 3-4-0 Ivy), both overall and within the Ivies. Last year, Pincince had said that the goal for the coming year was to finish in the top half of the conference, and this year the team accomplished that goal.
"I thought it was a very strong, rewarding 2008 season," Pincince said. "I'm really pleased that this team was able to refocus at the end of the year. ... It showed we didn't quit."
Pincince also commended the seniors, saying, "I thought from the time they came onto this campus as freshmen, the maturity and dedication and their leadership skills as a class have really blossomed."
Cunningham finished the season as the team's leader in points and goals with 15 and six, respectively. She also scored three game-winning goals, a career best.
Mize had been a starter for two years, as she fought back from injuries during her sophomore year. She was last season's leading scorer, and this year she posted two assists.
In addition to tri-captains Cunningham and Mize, the Bears said goodbye to four other seniors: Yeilani Figueroa, Emily Geldwert, Alex Michael and Julie Wu.
With a tremendous start to the season, the Bears' record after their first six games was 2-1-2 and the team was ranked as high as No. 21 in national polls. The highlight to the Bears' season was undoubtedly the UConn Classic Tournament, at which the team defeated No. 11 Penn State and tied the No. 1 UCLA Bruins in a shutout.
The last two games are "definitely something I'll never forget," Cunningham said. "Even though we didn't do as well as we thought we would this season, that one weekend makes it better."
"We definitely made our mark in Brown women's soccer history by playing the best and playing at our best," Mize said. "Being part of a really strong group of girls, it's the players that made my career memorable."
