If you were at the women's lacrosse game on Saturday, you might remember the weather — or be scarred by it.
Monsoon-like rain soaked the dedicated athletes and fans, while 25 mph winds ripped lacrosse sticks and umbrellas alike free of slippery hands.
Coming off a week of pristine practice conditions — so atypical of Providence in March — the Bears succumbed to the abrupt climate change and a dominant Princeton squad, losing the game, 16-6.
"The weather was definitely hard to play in," Alexa Caldwell '11, who led the Bears with four ground balls, two draw controls and three forced turnovers, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. "Both teams had to make adjustments. … We were all playing in the same crappy weather."
Indeed, both teams dropped the ball more than usual, and, unfortunately for the Bears, Princeton capitalized on almost every mistake.
Though Molly McCarthy '10 and Katelyn Caro '12 gave the Bears an early 2-0 lead within five minutes of the opening draw, as the first half drew to a close, the 13th-ranked Tigers went on a five-goal run, essentially putting an end to Brown's hopes of a 3-0 home record.
"At the very end of the first half we let down on defense — had some miscommunications that resulted in a couple quick goals by Princeton," Caldwell wrote.
"That's when they took the lead for the rest of the game," she added. "I think if we hadn't let down in those last three minutes it would have been entirely different, but for the rest of the game we were fighting to clear that deficit."
Despite the 10-goal loss, the Bears are eager — and confident — for a rematch.
"Coming into the game we all knew it would be a fight, and we wanted to strike first — which we did," said offensive standout Caro, who scored twice. "We had the effort and the fight the whole game, we just didn't put all the pieces together."
"All we can do now is focus on what's ahead and know that we will get another shot at Princeton in the Ivy Tournament," Caro added.
Brown will need a win on Wednesday at Yale to keep hopes of the tournament alive, as only the top four of eight Ivy League teams qualify.
"I think the team is very excited to rebound from this game against Yale on Wednesday," Caldwell said. "We are on a mission to make it to the Ivy Tournament."
