After three one-goal losses, the women's lacrosse team finally came out on the winning side in its last two games. Over the break, the Bears fell to Harvard, 14-13, in their most recent one-point loss, but came out strong against their next two opponents, Marist and Dartmouth, winning 13-12 and 8-5, respectively. The turnaround bounced Brown's record up to 4-5 and 1-1 in the Ivy League.
Bruno started the break with its Ivy League opener against Harvard at Jordan Field in Cambridge, Mass. Although the Bears started off the scoring 2:21 into the game with a goal from Jesse Nunn '09, the first half was back and forth between the teams.
The Crimson responded about three minutes later but Brown came back with two of its own from Nunn and Krystina DeLuca '09, grabbing a 3-1 lead 9:35 into the game. However, three straight Harvard goals from Sara Flood, Kaitlin Martin and Natalie Curtis sent the Crimson ahead, 4-3, for the first time in the game at 16:10.
The two teams traded goals for the remainder of the half but it was Harvard that came out on top before the break, leading by one at 9-8.
Just 1:35 into the second half, the Crimson started off the scoring and foreshadowed the outcome of the game. Despite a back and forth game, where the teams tied three times, a late spark by Harvard sent the team ahead for good.
The Crimson tied the game at 12 with 14:13 remaining and seized the lead with a goal from Lauren Bobzin with 9:59 left to play. Fewer than three minutes later Jess Halpern scored her 17th goal of the season, which proved to be the game winner. Brown found the net once more to put the score at 14-13 but after a clutch draw control in Harvard's favor, the Crimson held onto possession for the final minutes of the game.
"Losing is hard and losing by one is even worse," Vitkus wrote in an e-mail. "But we learned from our mistakes, which fueled us in our next two games over break."
Nunn led the team with four goals, while Vitkus followed close behind with three goals and two assists. The Bears started off their Ivy League campaign in a 0-1 hole, while Harvard improved its record to 6-1 overall and 1-0 Ivy.
After the team's third one-point loss of the season, the Bears took on the mentality of 'stop playing not to lose and start playing to win,' according to two players who were quoting Assistant Coach Meg Miller.
Brown took that attitude into its game against Marist, and it put the team over the edge, as Brown eked out a 13-12 victory.
The Bears trailed 6-3 at the half, but like most of their games so far, Bruno came out with renewed intensity after the break.
"Despite the score at halftime we were dominating the game throughout its entirety," Vitkus said. "In the first half our shots just weren't falling and we weren't being as smart with the ball as we should have. At halftime we refocused and then stepped out onto the field ready to step up our play and regain the lead."
The Bears tacked on four goals from four different players in the first 6:14 of play in the second half, giving them a 7-6 lead. Goals came from Vitkus, Mimi DeTolla '08, Deluca and Alexa Caldwell '11.
"We just came out and played our game in the second half," Caldwell wrote to The Herald. "In the first half we out-shot them by more than double their amount, we just weren't scoring." Brown tallied just three goals on 26 shots in the first half, but were more efficient in the second half, scoring 10 times on just 18 shots.
Sandwiching a Brown goal, Marist scored three times to regain the lead, 9-8, with 12:21 remaining. Both teams traded goals several more times, tying the game for the fifth time in the half with 9:58 left, but the Bears took the lead for good at 12 with a goal from Kara Kelly '10 with 3:25 remaining.
Caldwell insured Bruno with one more goal with just two minutes left to play, making the final score 13-12.
Spurred by the win, the Bears played similarly against No. 20 Dartmouth. Despite a slow start the team finished well on its way to an 8-5 win.
Although Dartmouth started the scoring with a goal from All-American candidate Kristen Barry, Brown responded with three goals of its own to take a 3-1 lead 18:59 into the game.
Two more goals from Dartmouth before the break tied the game at three, but Brown made adjustments and once again came out with a new fire in the second half.
"We are a second-half team," Caldwell said. "It takes us a while in the first half as we are feeling out our opponents, and by the second half we have discovered their weaknesses and know what works against them."
After winning the opening draw, Kelly Robinson '09 scored to give the Bears a lead at 4-3 that would last them for the remainder of the game.
Dartmouth scored two more goals, but with four more goals on the Bears' side it wasn't enough for the Big Green. The final score of the game was 8-5 and Brown evened its Ivy League to 1-1.
Brown travels to New York this weekend where it will face Columbia on Saturday at 1 p.m.
