If most losses are a learning experience, the field hockey team got a masters course after being handed a 7-1 defeat by Northeastern in Boston on Wednesday. Northeastern (5-2) scored on each of its first three shots on goal en route to dropping Brown's record to 1-3. But the Bears will have to study quick before Columbia (3-0) comes to town tomorrow for the Ivy League opener.
"This game helps identify some weaknesses in our team and certainly our play," said Sara Eaton '09. "These are things that our coaching staff will work to fix in the upcoming practices before Columbia."
The coaches need to look no further than the beginning of the Northeastern game. The Huskies raced out to the lead just 2:18 into the match when Annie Clayman beat Bears' goalkeeper Lauren Kessler '11, and they never looked back. Northeastern quickly overwhelmed Brown's defense, tacking on another goal at 10:51 and opening up a three-goal lead just 91 seconds later. Before the game was 13 minutes old, the Bears were in a deep hole.
"Their forwards were extremely fast, and we came out on our heels, very tentatively," said Katie Hyland '11. "We just let them get the best of us within the first 15 minutes."
But the Bears recovered and edged closer with a goal at 18:37 when Eaton found the back of the cage.
"I think it was on a turnover," she said. "I got the ball from their left back and passed it to Katie Hyland, who had the poise to control it for a second, draw the defender, and then she passed it to me. I just did a quick (move) on the goalie and shot it."
Brown yanked Kessler, who did not stop any of the three shots she faced, a minute later and inserted Caroline Washburn '12 in goal. Washburn's collegiate debut got off to an encouraging start, as she made two saves to shut down Northeastern for the remainder of the half. Although the Bears had been out-shot, 12-4, and trailed in penalty corners, 7-1, the players remained optimistic.
"Going into halftime (down only) 3-1 against a team like Northeastern, we really had (high) hopes for the second half," Hyland said.
But it was not to be for the Bears. Northeastern came out stronger in the second half, posting a 12-1 advantage in shots. Although Washburn made four saves, the Huskies still scored four times.
Meg Sweeney scored her second goal of the game 13:56 into the second half to give Northeastern a 4-1 lead. The Huskies added two more goals 50 seconds apart, and then Ashley Bascetta tacked on the final tally with just 1:13 left in the game.
"It was pretty brutal," Hyland said. "I felt like we gave up after the fourth goal, when it was 4-1. Everything just snowballed, and the icing on the terrible cake was that goal within two minutes of just ending the game."
One positive that came out of the deep deficit was that Head Coach Tara Harrington '94 was able to empty Brown's bench and let some young players gain valuable game experience. Both Eaton and Hyland said those substitutions should help the team down the road.
"I think that Caroline Washburn especially gained a lot of experience from her play (Wednesday)," Hyland said.
"She was very talkative, which is helpful when you're a goalie. Madison Miketa ('10), Cami Misas ('11), Tess Standa ('09), they all got in, and it was just wonderful to see some new faces on the field and showing what they could do."
Now the Bears will have to quickly turn it around before hosting Columbia in their Ivy League home opener on Warner Roof at noon tomorrow, but the team is not intimidated by their League foe.
"Columbia is good; they're undefeated right now, but I know that we can pull through this and win this game," Hyland said. "They're not any better than us. We just have to prove ourselves. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain."
After all, the Bears are aiming high this season.
"The Ivy League this year is wide open," Eaton said. We have it in our power to win the Ivy League this year, regardless of our record to date. Our coaching staff and the entire team is ready for this game, and it's going to be a showdown."
