The field hockey team has improved recently, but taking on a nationally-ranked opponent proved to be a bridge too far. In a game marred by inconsistent play, the Bears (3-9, 0-4 Ivy) suffered a 7-1 loss to the No. 12 Princeton Tigers (10-2, 4-0) on Saturday in New Jersey.
"We got ourselves in a bad situation in the first half," said Victoria Sacco '09. "If we had stuck to our game plan and really played our game throughout the entire full 70 minutes, I think that the score probably would have been a little different."
As it was, Brown was lucky to hold Princeton to only seven goals. The Tigers used a blazing counterattack that quickly took advantage of mistakes by the Bears to post a 49-5 advantage in shots.
"When we did turn the ball over, it was difficult for us sometimes to get back quickly and organize quickly at the rate that they were coming at us," said Head Coach Tara Harrington '94.
Facing a barrage of shots, Brown goalkeepers Lauren Kessler '11 and Caroline Washburn '12 held up reasonably well, combining for 23 saves to keep Princeton from opening a wider lead.
"I think it's amazing that they managed to stop as many goals as they did with as many shots as they had on them," said Katie Hyland '11.
The Tigers struck first just 7:29 into the game, but for nearly 15 minutes afterwards the Bears kept them out of the cage. Harrington said that the defense, especially Sacco, was doing a good job of outletting the ball forward under duress.
"She was a good leader from the backfield and really was a large part of why we were able to work the ball from our backfield under such intense pressure up to our forward line," Harrington said.
But Princeton continued to take shots, building a 22-1 first half advantage, and Brown's defense finally broke down late in the first half. The Tigers scored in the 23rd, 27th and 34th minutes to take a 4-0 lead into halftime.
"When they get that many shots and they're in our defensive circle for that much of the game, goals are going to go in," Sacco said.
The Tigers extended their lead to 5-0 just 1:12 into the second half, but the Bears refused to roll over. Just 2:15 later Sacco collected a pass from Hyland and found the back of the cage to erase the shutout. Hyland said it was a big lift for the team to know that while Princeton had scored on only one of its 13 penalty corners, Brown converted on one of two.
The Bears went on to hold the Tigers scoreless for another 22 minutes before they tacked on their sixth goal at 60:37. Kessler left in the 65th minute with 18 saves, and Washburn faced six shots in the waning minutes, making five saves. Tacy Zysk '11 led the Bears with three shots.
On a positive note, the rout gave Harrington an opportunity to empty the bench and gave the backups a chance to gain valuable experience, which will give the Bears more depth down the road. Harrington said she was impressed that the level of play remained consistent even when the backups came in.
"Madison Miketa ('10) came off the bench and she was a nice little sparkplug for us at the right wing spot," she said.
After what Hyland characterized as being outplayed by a better team, the Bears will have to turn around quickly when they host cross-city rival Providence College (9-8) on Wednesday. The Friars are a dangerous but struggling team, ranked No. 18 in last week's NFHCA Division I National Coaches' Poll, but in the midst of a three-game losing streak. The Bears know what they need to do to get back on track.
"We had a team meeting after the game where we talked about how we're able to really assess our play well and see where we went wrong, but the next step for us is actually doing what we say we're going to do in terms of fixing things," Sacco said. "The game against PC will be a good showing, for if we can move on from that situation, and I have full confidence that we will be able to put up a good show against PC."
