In a match against Ivy rival Harvard, Brown dropped a 2-1 decision Saturday in Cambridge.
Two early goals from the Crimson (3-6-2, Ivy 2-1-0) kept the Bears (3-6-3, 0-1-2) from clawing their way back into the game. The loss is Bruno’s first in the Ivy League this season after two previous ties.
“Harvard was very excited for their first home Ivy League game,” said co-captain and goalie Josh Weiner ’14. “They came out hard the first 20 to 25 minutes.”
The Crimson offense put the Bears under pressure from the start, recording four shots in the opening 10 minutes. The Bears’ defense was unlocked just 18 minutes in when a free kick found its way into a crowd of players in front of the goal. A Crimson forward redirected the free kick across the line to open the scoring.
Harvard struck again just eight minutes later. A ball in from the flank fell to the feet of Ashi Geberkidane, who headed the ball past Weiner to up the Crimson’s lead to 2-0.
“We had the upper hand in play for the remaining 70 minutes,” Weiner said. “But because (the Crimson) were able to sneak out to that two-goal lead, it was tough for us to come back.”
Bruno found an answer in the 36th minute through Jack Gorab ’16. Voltaire Escalona ’14 delivered a cross from the left corner, and Gorab beat his defender to head home Bruno’s only goal of the match, bringing the score to 2-1.
“It was promising that we showed fight and determination to get that goal back,” Weiner said. “We had a few scrambles in the box, and maybe on another night those will go our way.”
The Bears came out strong in the second half, outshooting the Crimson 7-5. A shot from Alex Markes ’15 smacked the post in the 86th minute, but Bruno could not find the equalizer before the final whistle.
The Bears will continue their road stint against Cornell (6-3-4, 0-2-1) Saturday and are in search of their first Ivy League victory of the season.
“Like Harvard, they try to capitalize off of set pieces, so we’ll do a lot of training toward that,” Weiner said. “We’ll be trying to adapt to their environment, and hopefully get a win on the road.”
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