After a 3-0 loss at Boston College on Friday, the Bears rebounded nicely for a 4-1 win against Albany last night in their home opener.
Tri-captain goalkeeper Brenna Hogue '10 did all she could for the Bears against the Eagles on Friday, making a career-high 12 saves in her season debut after missing last year because of a dislocated kneecap. Despite Hogue's efforts, Boston College went up 2-0 by halftime and never looked back. The Bears could muster only five shots on net to the Eagles' 26.
But on Sunday, the Bears were ready.
"We came back and refocused and put that game behind us," said Hogue who made seven more saves on Sunday. "We were excited for our home opener and it lit a fire under everyone."
Against the Great Danes, the Bears' renewed fire lead to a second-half surge of three unanswered goals after a 1-1 tie at the half.
"We dominated the midfield, we did not control the midfield on Friday," said Head Coach Phil Pincince of his changed team. "We also exploited the flanks."
A key component to their domination was the play of Kate Scott '11, who scored her first two career goals off of three shots and assisted on another.
She scored the first goal for Bruno in the first half off of a corner kick and her second was a diving, lunging shot that squeezed past Albany goalkeeper Cate Crenson to top off the game for Brown.
"Set plays are my strong point," Scott said. "We were also at home and just wanted to show the crowd a good game."
"She had a great game at centerback, she's very dangerous on offense and defense," Pincince said.
Tri-captain Lindsay Cunningham '09 started off the second-half tallies with a shot that zoomed out of a group of swarming Bears in front of the Albany goal.
Marybeth Lesbirel '12 scored about two minutes later with a breakaway shot off of an assist from Cunningham.
Brown continued to pressure the Great Danes, with a shot by Sarah Hebert-Seropian '12 hitting the crossbar and several crosses by Lesbirel falling inside the six-yard box, before Scott put in her second goal.
The firepower of Scott and Cunningham working in tandem was key to the Bears rebounding from Friday's loss.
"We both work really hard and can judge where each is going to be," Scott said. Scott also cited that the defensive line of Allison Kagawa '12, Charlotte Rizzi '11 and Sylvia Stone '11 "couldn't get any better than this."
However, the team is quick to make concessions of success for the rest of the season.
"We had a good home opener," Pincince said. "Not great, but good." Playing the No. 10 and No. 2 ranked teams in Penn State and UCLA this weekend at the UConn Classic, the Bears look to keep their momentum going during the toughest non-conference schedule they have had in years.
"I believe in this group and this team is mentally tougher than any we've had in awhile," said Pincince.
The Bears will not return to Stevenson Field until Oct. 1 when they take on Holy Cross.
"It's worth (being on the road so long) with who we're playing," Hogue said. "Hope we can keep the streak going."
