The field hockey team won its second straight decision Saturday afternoon, coming from behind to beat Columbia in the rain 2-1. After falling behind 1-0 early in the second half, the Bears scored two unanswered goals and shut out the Lions for the remainder of the game. With the win, the Bears brought their record over .500 (5-4 overall, 2-1 Ivy) for the first time since Sept. 4 and matched their win total from all of last season.
Brown came into the game having won three of its last four, outscoring its opponents 13-5 during that stretch. But in the first half the Bears could not get behind Columbia's zone defense, managing only one shot on goal. At the other end of the field, the Bears held the Lions scoreless despite playing on their heels for much of the half and doing their best not to slip on the wet turf of the neutral Quinnipiac University field.
"We have been a little slow coming out of the gate all year," said Head Coach Carolan Norris.
Columbia ended the stalemate less than two minutes into the second half when Ramie Merrill sent a hard shot into the corner of the net.
After Merrill's strike, Bruno rallied and notched the game-tying goal less than four minutes later when Tracy Dungo '07 slammed home a feed from Sarah Eaton '09 for her first goal of the season.
"We were able to pull together ... after they had scored," said Marissa Loo '09.
Just over four minutes later, at the 51:05 mark, Brown finally capitalized on one of its 11 penalty corners on the day. Eaton received the initial pass and left the ball for co-captain Brooke Townsend '06. Usually in such a scenario, the senior would wind up for a huge shot on goal in hopes of a generating a long rebound. But Townsend opted to pass the ball back to Eaton, who fired a shot into the corner of the net to give Brown a 2-1 advantage.
"Their goal really sparked a fire in us," Norris said. "It was a jump start for us, and it enabled us to take control the rest of that second half. We simply started beating them to the ball."
Along with a defense that stepped up its intensity in the second half, goalie Kristen Hodavance '07 kept the Lions at bay for the rest of the game. The junior recorded eight saves on the day, following in impressive fashion her first shutout of the season on Oct. 2 against Colgate University.
"I don't think we could have asked for much more out of our goalie," Loo said.
"We have the luxury of having two great goalkeepers," Norris said, referring to Hodavance and Evelyn Brosi '07, who has already recorded a shutout of her own and earned Ivy League Player of the Week honors. "We just go by whoever's hot in practice."
By pushing its league record to 2-1, Brown is in position to make a run at the Ivy League Championship.
"We really needed this one if we were going to stay in the hunt," Norris said. "This was big."
The Bears look to win their third straight road game when they play Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass., on Wednesday.
