Saturday afternoon the field hockey team dropped its home opener to Dartmouth, 2-1, in a hotly contested game on Warner Roof. Even though the result was disappointing, the Bears showed significant improvement after a rocky start in the previous Saturday's 3-1 loss to the University of Vermont.
The Big Green came roaring out of the gate, controlling the initial minutes with several scoring chances before Ashley Hines flicked the ball past screened Bears' goaltender Kristen Hodavance '08 at 6:59 of the first half.
First-year Head Coach Tara Harrington '94 admitted the Bears started sluggishly.
"I think that we didn't transform the great energy we had in the pregame into the game in the first few minutes," she said. "Dartmouth's a very good team. They're very fast with the ball and strong. We sat back a little bit and let them come into our defensive end and they capitalized. I think we played a little timid."
The score remained 1-0 for the next 20 minutes as both teams blew scoring chances until Dartmouth capitalized again. After the Bears successfully defended a penalty corner, Katy Hagy knocked home a pass at 27:21 to give Dartmouth a 2-0 lead it took into halftime. Dartmouth outshot Brown 9-6 in the first half.
After the sluggish first half, Brown rebounded and outplayed Dartmouth in the final 35 minutes.
"I think that the kids started to settle in," Harrington said. "We started to move the ball better. ... Our forwards were getting the ball and making nice runs upfield. As a unit we were moving and shifting together. And we were just more confident."
Just 2:33 into the second half, that improved play resulted in a goal. After Dartmouth goaltender Jordan Sedlacek blocked a shot from Victoria Sacco '09 off a penalty corner, Andrea Posa '08 collected the rebound and slipped it into the back of the cage, trimming the deficit to one.
Despite several golden scoring opportunities in the latter stages of the second half, Brown was never able to tie the game. The Bears tested the Dartmouth backline repeatedly, but Sedlacek consistently turned the them aside. Posa said that though Brown's failure to tie the was disappointing, she was pleased with the team's strong second half attack.
"I was excited about how much pressure we were putting on their keeper," she said. "I think she played a really good game. I think we got a lot of nice shots off, (and) she made some good saves. We had great movement in the circle, which is something that we definitely improved on from last game."
Both Harrington and Posa praised Hodavance, who finished with six saves. Harrington also commended freshmen Cami Misas '11, a midfielder making her collegiate debut, and Katie Hyland '11, who played a critical role as the center midfielder in the second half.
Posa also noted the contributions of the freshmen. "We had a lot of young players on the field and they got out there and did their job with confidence," she said.
The game was played under bright sunshine with a temperature in the high-80s, but Harrington and Posa both denied that the conditions had an impact on the game. The heat didn't seem to affect the crowd either, as more than 400 boisterous fans packed Warner Roof, providing support that fueled the team.
"I love playing on Warner Roof," Harrington said. "It's a venue where you feel like the fans are on top of you, and it's tremendous. Any Brown student deserves to play in that type of arena."
The Bears must put this loss behind them and focus on preparing for the Pioneers of Sacred Heart University, who they face Wednesday at 4 p.m. on Warner Roof. One critical area of focus will be improving the team's first-half play.
"We are very disappointed in the way we began this game today," Harrington said. "I certainly think there were aspects today where there were improvements from last Saturday, but we still have to focus ... They are a great group of kids. It's just getting them consistent and sticking with the game plan from the first whistle to the last whistle."
