Riding a two-game win streak going into spring break, the women's lacrosse team (5-4, 1-2 Ivy League) fell to ranked opponents No. 9 Stanford University and No. 18 Dartmouth last week. Scoring streaks from both the Cardinal (9-1) and the Big Green (6-2, 3-0 Ivy League) at crucial points in both games were too much for the Bears' offense to overcome. Tri-captain Paris Waterman '11 and Bre Hudgins '14 led the team in scoring over the two games, netting three and four goals, respectively.
Stanford 12, Brown 8
Bruno snatched an early lead in sunny California with a goal by Danielle Mastro '14 just 1:30 into the game. But Stanford struck back quickly, netting two goals in the next four minutes to reclaim a 2-1 lead. Both teams continued to trade goals over the following seven minutes, as goals from Lindsay Minges '13 and Hudgins sandwiched another Cardinal goal, bringing the score to 3-3 midway through the first half.
"Overall, I was pretty impressed with the way we came out," Waterman said. "Stanford is a top-10 team, and we were really on a mission to win and win big … I think if we could have stuck to our game plan for the full 60 minutes … the outcome would have been different."
Stanford broke free of the goal swapping over the next 10 minutes, rattling off a four-goal scoring streak to push its lead to 7-3 with five minutes to play in the half. Another from Hudgins late in the half brought the score to 7-4 and closed out a tight first period.
It was Stanford's turn to strike first in the second half, as Rachel Ozer tallied an unassisted goal five minutes into play. Bruno's point leader Kaela McGilloway '12 responded twice over the ensuing seven minutes, netting goals around another Stanford strike to keep Stanford's lead at three, 9-6. Hudgins cut the lead with a goal a minute later, but Stanford again came on strong late in the half, scoring three in a row to establish a 12-7 lead. A final goal from Mastro with four minutes to play was not enough to help the Bears claw back against their ranked opponent.
Though much of the game was back-and-forth, Stanford claimed a 32-18 edge in shots taken and a 25-19 advantage in ground balls won.
"I think it was a really good learning lesson for us against a top-10 opponent," said Head Coach Keely McDonald '00. "We really got a feel for what that kind of game feels like and that every single play in that game is going to make a difference, and I think those are tremendous lessons for us."
Dartmouth 17, Brown 5
The Big Green took an early lead and never looked back Saturday in Hanover, tallying scores twice in the first two minutes to grab a 2-0 lead. Though Waterman struck with two goals of her own in the next 10 minutes, tying the score, Dartmouth set off on a six-goal scoring run, giving themselves an 8-2 lead with five minutes to play in the first half. Two goals from Hudgins and Waterman stopped the Big Green's onslaught and cut the lead to four.
Not to be slowed down, Dartmouth added three quick goals with two minutes left in the half to give the Big Green a commanding 11-4 advantage going into the break.
"Lacrosse is a game of runs, and we definitely need to respond to those and step up as a unit not only to limit runs but to go on runs too," McDonald said.
Dartmouth's scoring runs only continued in the second half, as the Big Green added six more goals over the first 20 minutes to extend their dominant lead to 17-4. Julia Keller '12 capitalized on a feed from McGilloway with six minutes left in the game, bringing the final score to 17-5.
"All of us are extremely disappointed and unhappy with our performance," Waterman said. "We wanted it so badly, and it's not translating to how we played … We want everybody on the team to be giving it their all and giving it their best, and we didn't feel like we had that."
Bruno will enjoy a five-day respite before continuing its grueling stretch of games against Harvard Friday at 6 p.m.
The game is an important one for the team, not just in their pursuit of an Ivy Championship, but also in the pursuit of a cure. The night game represents the second annual "Lacrosse for Lupus" event and is dedicated to finding a cure for the disease.
Though the team has philanthropic goals for Friday, they are not losing sight of the task on the field. After facing off against the Crimson, the Bears also welcome No. 3 Duke University to Stevenson Field Sunday afternoon.
"We are preparing not just for Harvard but for us to work on some of the things we need to work on after Dartmouth," McDonald said. "We are focusing on us and on being ready and prepared for the big weekend we have coming up against two great teams with two great opportunities to win."
