The women's lacrosse team played two thrilling games over the weekend, both of which were decided by one goal. The Bears came out on top in overtime for their first win of the young season on Friday, defeating Sacred Heart University 13-12. On Sunday, Bruno put in another solid effort but came up short against Stony Brook University, losing 10-9. The Bears are now 1-2 on the season.
On Friday, Brown benefited from early contributions from its young players. Five of the six players who scored were underclassmen. The sophomore class got the Bears rolling when Lauren Vitkus '09 scored her second goal of the season, and Bethany Buzzell '09 contributed two more to account for Brown's first three goals. Meghan Markowski '10 followed their lead, finding the back of the net for her first career goal to put the Bears up 4-2.
"Nine of our 10 starters are underclassmen," said Noelle DiGioia '09. "We really weren't surprised by their contributions. We knew what we were capable of."
Sacred Heart battled back to tie the score 4-4, but Buzzell, Vitkus and Molly McCarthy '10 each scored as part of a 3-1 run that put Bruno up 7-5 at the end of the first half.
"I think we were kind of playing down to their level in the first half," DiGioia said.
The Pioneers rallied after the break and knotted the score at seven early in the second half, and Brown and Sacred Heart continued to exchange goals until the end. With the Bears down 11-10 with 1:15 remaining, Vitkus converted a free position shot to send the game into overtime.
"It was good experience for us to be in overtime now, early in the year," DiGioia said. "We know how nerve-racking it can be, and even though we weren't scared by it or anything, it's something we want to try and avoid later in the season."
Brown's underclassmen rose to the challenge. Markowski converted a nice feed from Kiki Manners '10 to put the Bears up one just 1:18 into the six-minute overtime.
After Sacred Heart returned the favor, Jesse Nunn '09 found the perfect time to score her first career goal. With only 1:46 remaining in the extra session, she found the back of the net off an assist from Buzzell to secure Brown's first victory.
"We handled overtime really well. It was a good win for us," DiGioia said.
On Sunday against Stony Brook, Nunn started right where she left off on Friday, scoring the first goal of the game. But the Seawolves responded, and despite goals from Buzzell and Mimi DeTolla '08, the Bears were down 5-3 at the half.
Stony Brook netted the first goal of the second half, but the Bears were resilient, going on a 4-0 run and taking a 7-6 lead on DeTolla's second goal of the game with 16:51 left.
"We came out really hard and played well in the second half," DiGioia said.
The Seawolves came back to tie the score 7-7, but Krystina DeLuca '09 and DeTolla scored to put the Bears up 9-7 with 10:42 to play.
"We had a few turnovers, and that gave them a few transition goals that helped them take the lead," DiGioia said. "Plus, a new rule this year makes a team that has gotten four yellow cards play a man down. It was a rough game, and we were put in a position to have to play a man down. They were really able to hold the ball and drain the clock."
Stony Brook refused to give up and closed the game with a 3-0 run to hand the Bears their second loss of the season. Melissa King '08 recorded a season-high 13 saves in the loss.
The Bears play at No. 3 University of Maryland this Saturday.
"It's going to be a good test for us," said co-captain Amie Biros '07. "Maryland is a top team, and we're going to be working really hard in practice on our defense and staying close on cutters to get ready for them."
