The good news for the field hockey team was that the Bears were more consistent Sunday than they had been in previous games. The bad news was that Brown failed to score, despite strong offensive pressure, dropping a 1-0 heartbreaker to Georgetown University on Warner Roof.
Combined with a 2-0 loss Saturday to the University of Maine, the loss drops the Bears' record to 0-5 this season.
"Certainly there was better energy out there (yesterday) from beginning to end, but we're struggling to score," said Head Coach Tara Harrington '94. "We've got to pick it up from the five-yard line to the cage, and that's not just our forwards. That's our midfielders helping keep the ball in off the rebound, and that's our backfield helping pitch the ball in as well."
The weekend started with a tough outing against Maine in dreary conditions. The Black Bears came out strong and scored 6:44 into the game, when Kim MacDonald came down the right side and fired a shot past Brown goaltender Kristen Hodavance '08 into the far side of the cage.
Maine scored again 7:37 later when Erin Reusch knocked in a loose ball. Although Brown shut down Maine after that, the Bears were never able to answer, despite compiling a 9-3 advantage in shots and a 6-1 advantage in penalty
corners in the second half.
"We got down, (and) it took the wind out of our sails," Harrington said. "Our energy wasn't where it needed to be in the first half. That was something that we really talked a long time about after the game in the locker room."
Brown looked like a completely different team Sunday. The Bears came out strong and tested Georgetown goaltender Deirdre Crovo early, but were repeatedly turned aside.
Then the Hoyas came down the field and scored on their first shot of the game, at 10:50, when Lindsay Moramarco beat Hodavance with a shot to the far corner of the cage from the left side.
The Bears continued to play well but never managed to score the equalizer, despite having several tantalizing opportunities.
Failure to capitalize aside, the game was a much stronger showing by the Bears than previous games. Brown played a complete game for the first time this season and outshot Georgetown 16-14. Still, Bruno only managed to put seven of its shots in the cage, while Georgetown tallied 12 shots-on-goal.
"The kids came today and there was energy from the beginning to the end," Harrington said. "They were very focused, very positive, (but) we couldn't finish. We couldn't knock one in. If we had knocked one in, it would have been a completely different ballgame."
Co-captain Ani Kazarian '08 said the team is making progress.
"We're taking what the coaches are telling us, implementing it in the game, and improving, (which is) great for us," she said. "Just coming out with the same passion that we did today will be helpful in our future games."
Harrington praised Tacy Zysk '11, who moved to the center forward position.
"She plays with a ton of passion, she's an animal in front of the net and she dives for things," Harrington said. "Tacy had an outstanding game today."
One of the brighter spots of the weekend was the return of midfielder Sara Eaton '09, who saw her first action of the season on Saturday.
Harrington described Eaton as "a burst of energy." Eaton said she was a little tired, but felt great. Now, she has to get back into the swing of things on a team that is struggling.
"We have to go back to the basics," she said. "That's something our coaches keep saying. Go back to simple passes, simple defense, and get ourselves back together, back to where we're playing good Brown field hockey."
The Bears will have another chance to record their first win on Wednesday, when they host the University of Rhode Island at 4 p.m. on Warner Roof.
"We'll continue to work, and we'll continue to improve," Harrington said. "(The players) keep rallying, and they keep fighting. Certainly, (the loss to Georgetown) is not easy right now, but they continue to come and play with energy and passion. They'll get it right."
