The women's lacrosse team (6-7, 1-4 Ivy) snapped a five-game losing streak Tuesday at Stevenson Field, dismantling the St. Mary's College of California Gaels, 26-6. Nine different Bears contributed to a potent offensive effort that overwhelmed the Gael defense. Kaela McGilloway '12 set the pace for the Bears' attacking unit, finding the net five times and dishing out four assists. Bruno scooped up 19 ground balls in the victory, which allowed for long possessions and constant pressure on the Gael goal.
The Bears established a lead early and never looked back, scoring seven straight goals to open the game. The Gaels struggled to establish any sort of tempo, as the stringent Brown midfield forced multiple turnovers. St. Mary's finally got on the board in the 16th minute in unconvincing fashion, as a batted loose ball trickled into the net. But the Bears would not be stopped, adding eight more goals before the half and cruising to a dominant 15-2 halftime scoreline.
"A lot of people contributed all over the field," said Head Coach Keely McDonald '00. "And gritty play is important for us, so the ground ball and draw controls were great to see."
"We have about seven more days of lacrosse left," said tri-captain Alexa Caldwell '11. "We want to finish out the week the way we know we can, and we owe it to ourselves as a team to have fun with it."
McGilloway and Bre Hudgins '14 added to the lead in the opening minutes of the second half, each netting unassisted goals. Though the Gaels responded with a strike of their own two minutes later, it was clear Bruno's offense was too much to handle. The Bears set off on another scoring streak, finding the net six times in the next 10 minutes. Erin Roos '14 and Marissa Dale '14 each netted their first goal of the game during this spree. The Gaels attacked too little too late, adding three goals in the final 10 minutes of play. Brown added two from Hudgins and one more from Tara Rooke '13 to cruise to the comfortable 26-6 victory.
Bruno totaled a whopping 46 shots in the game and capitalized on seven of 10 free position shots. Winning 26 draws allowed the Bears to keep the ball for most of the game and apply offensive pressure.
"We really owned the midfield today and that has become a staple for us," Caldwell said. "We're looking to continue that for the last two games and practices."
Next up for Bruno is Ivy opponent No. 8 Penn Saturday at Stevenson Field. Though the team is not in contention for postseason play, the game is an important one for the seniors as they head into their final week with the team.
"We're trying to have fun and to hold it together to finish the way we know we can," Caldwell said.
