The field hockey team suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime loss to Penn on Sunday in the penultimate game of the season. After a sluggish first half, the Bears (4-12, 0-6 Ivy) rallied to tie the Quakers (6-10, 4-2) in the second half and secure the momentum going into overtime, but Rachel Eng scored on a 2-on-1 breakaway 10 minutes into the extra frame to deny Brown a win in its final road game of the year.
"It's never easy to lose in overtime, but I think we fought really hard in the second half to come back and definitely fought throughout the overtime," said Leslie Springmeyer '12. "The Penn player was just able to beat our defenders and got a really good shot on goal."
The Quakers struck quickly, taking the lead just 3:46 into the game, and raced to a 16-5 advantage in shots, but the Bears limited them to just a 7-5 advantage in shots on goal. Brown goalkeeper Caroline Washburn '12 made six saves to keep Penn off the board for the rest of the first half, but the Bruno offense could not convert on its chances, as Penn goalie Alanna Butera stopped all five shots to send her team into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
"I think a few individuals played amazingly in the first half, but the team didn't fight as much as we did in the second half, which we kind of regretted," Springmeyer said.
Though Brown could have been down even more than 1-0 at the half, Sara Eaton '09 said she was not happy to go into halftime trailing after missing out on so many opportunities. The Bears regrouped in the locker room, and emerged with a renewed focus on defense.
"We definitely talked about a few points we needed to work on, and I think it showed through our play how we changed those points," Springmeyer said. "We communicated a lot better to each other, and we had a lot better recovery on individual defense, which we were lacking in the first half. We kind of let Penn play around with us (before)."
Bruno started the second half strong, but trailed for 19:30 before Springmeyer found the back of the cage after a penalty corner to tie the game.
"The goalie came out to Victoria (Sacco '09), and she was able to lift it over the goalie's stick, and I was open on the post and finished it into the goal," Springmeyer said. "It felt amazing, and it definitely pumped us all up, which is why we could hold them, at least until the overtime."
The Bears controlled the second half, building advantages of 6-5 in shots and 5-2 in corners and taking the only two shots on goal of the period. Eaton attributed the improvement to teamwork.
"We were supporting the forwards a lot more," she said. "(For) a lot of the first half, we were drilling the ball to Tacy (Zysk '11) and Leslie Springmeyer and letting them run with it without supporting them and giving them passing options. In the second half, it was a real team effort, and we were able to sustain (our) attack."
Buoyed by their momentum, the Bears believed strongly in their chances to pull out the win.
"I thought (our chances) were great," Eaton said. "We were fitter, stronger and faster, and I certainly believed we would win. Unfortunately, the ball just didn't bounce our way."
Still looking for their first Ivy League win of the season, the Bears will host the Yale Bulldogs (7-9, 2-4) in the season finale on Warner Roof on Saturday at noon. Bruno will look for a repeat of last year's 3-0 victory over its rivals from New Haven to send the senior class of Eaton, Natalie Harrington '09, Ann LeClerc '09, Sacco and Tess Standa '09 out with a win. Eaton said it will be bittersweet to have her career draw to a close.
"I'm really sad, actually, but all good things must come to an end," she said.