The field hockey team has followed a simple mantra this season: play good defense and sprinkle in just enough offense to get the job done. That strategy worked for the Bears again on Saturday in their 1-0 overtime victory at home over Columbia.
The win extended Brown's dominance over Ivy League opponents, moving it to 3-0 in the Ancient Eight on the year (7-2 overall). The hot start is Brown's best this decade and it sets up a showdown with Princeton this Saturday in New Jersey for first place in the conference. The Tigers, Ivy champions 11 of the past 12 years, are also undefeated in the league this year.
Against the Lions, forward Andrea Posa '08 scored 8:27 into the extra period to lift the Bears. The game-winning goal was set up when the Bears earned a penalty corner, after which Samantha Lloyd '07 sent the ball to Victoria Sacco '09 at the top of the circle. Sacco smacked a pass that Posa deflected into the lower right corner of the cage.
"The play was supposed to be a pass back to Sam (from Sacco), but they had it covered," said midfielder Sara Eaton '09. "Vicky read it perfectly and passed over to Andrea, who was able to put it in."
In the NCAA overtime format, competition goes from the usual 11 players on each side to seven-on-seven, opening play and increasing scoring chances. The teams play two 15-m inute, sudden death overtimes. Despite the offensive nature of overtime play, Brown surrendered zero shots during the period. Head Coach Carolan Norris applauded her team's play in the extra session.
"We played almost 80 minutes of hockey, and the last 10 were seven (versus) seven over that entire field," she said. "We were mentally exhausted. ... That win was great for our confidence."
The game was Brown's second overtime contest this season. On Sept. 27, Brown lost at Northeastern University 2-1 in the extra session. "We lost our first overtime game, but this time we knew what we had to do," Norris said.
Since that loss to the Huskies, the Bears have recorded two straight shutouts. Goaltender Kristen Hodavance '08 has played a major role in the team's stifling defense. She leads the league with a .98 goals against average. On Saturday, Hodavance was supported by some sturdy defense. She needed only four saves in order to record the shutout, with all coming in the second half.
"The hardest games for me are the ones where I get no shots," Hodavance said. "Then when they do get some breaks, it's always a little nerve-wracking."
In the first half, the ball hardly ever traveled to Hodavance's end of the field. Brown applied consistent offensive pressure, and during the middle of the half Bruno had a 10-minute stretch where the ball didn't even reach its defenders waiting at midfield.
Forward Sandhya Dhir '08, Lloyd and others fired quality shots toward the Columbia cage only to come up empty-handed. By the end of the first half the Bears had accumulated nine penalty corners and 14 shots, but the teams remained in a scoreless tie.
"We probably should've scored in the first half," Eaton said. "We were a little disappointed that the score didn't reflect how we played."
After Brown's dominance in the first half, the teams fought an even battle in the second. Columbia was finally able to string a few passes together and mount an attack, while Brown also had the occasional break. Players and coaches, however, agreed that Bruno did not effectively possess the ball in the second half.
Posa's goal in overtime compensated for Brown's inability to capitalize in regulation. The tally was Posa's seventh of the year, tying her for the Ivy League lead. She also shares the conference lead for points with 14.
Next weekend the Bears travel to Princeton for their most important game of the season so far. While Princeton sports only a 6-4 overall record, its results include losses to currently ranked opponents such as No. 19 University of Richmond, No. 12 University of Connecticut, No. 10 Penn State University and No. 3 Old Dominion University. While the Bears are excited to play Princeton, they acknowledge that game will be hard-fought.
"We've been talking about Princeton all year, and it's finally here," Norris said. "Actually, the kids have been talking about it all off-season too ... the pressure's on Princeton, not us. But it'll be a tough week and a difficult game. Princeton's the cream of the crop."
