The women’s lacrosse team entered spring break hoping to extend a six-game winning streak that included Ivy wins over Princeton and Columbia. Traveling west, Bruno defeated the University of Colorado but picked up its first loss at the University of Denver, falling by a single goal. Returning home, the Bears (7-2, 2-1 Ivy) repeated the heartbreaking result, losing again by one point to Dartmouth (5-4, 2-1).
Brown 11, University of Colorado 8
Bruno struck early and often against the Buffaloes (4-5, 1-1 MPSF) in the first half, taking a 9-0 lead by the end of the period. Co-captain Bre Hudgins ’14 notched a hat trick in the first half after scoring the opener in the first minute of play. Her fellow co-captain Grace Healy ’14 followed with two consecutive goals. Healy proved to be a dominant force in the period, earning points on two assists in addition to her goals. Danielle Mastro ’14 also scored twice in the frame, and Janie Gion ’15 and Richael Walsh ’16 each added one.
“Everybody needs to know that we always have to be a threat and always play our best lacrosse,” Hudgins said. “We should always come ready to play and ready to fight. … Our coach always says, ‘Keep your foot on the accelerator.’”
The Bears shut down Colorado in the first half, allowing only three draw controls and two shots. Kellie Roddy ’15 effectively guarded Bruno’s net during the first half but was subbed out halfway through the second with Brown up 10-1. As part of a wave of six Brown substitutions with 12 minutes left, Victoria Holland ’16 assumed the net. Three consecutive goals from the Buffs tightened Bruno’s lead to 10-4. Julia Carrellas ’15 scored once for Bruno, but Colorado followed with four more to bring the final score to 11-8.
University of Denver 9, Brown 8
The Bears got off to a slow start against the Pioneers (9-1, 3-0 MPSF), unable to take a lead at any point during the first half, before falling in the last minutes of play.
Denver scored twice in the first two minutes to take an early 2-0 lead. Walsh and Mastro retaliated to tie the game at two, but Bruno would not score again during the period as the Pioneers pulled ahead 5-2. Denver outshot Bruno by seven in the first half and severely limited draw controls, giving the Pioneers the chance to outscore the Bears. But in the second half, the numbers flipped as Brown’s comeback attempt, fueled by 11 draw controls and 15 shots, almost came to fruition.
Mastro and Kerianne Hunt ’17 opened the second half with goals to narrow Denver’s lead to 5-4. The Pioneers retaliated, but goals from both Healy and Mastro tied the game at six with 18 minutes to play. Denver’s Rachael McKinnon responded by completing her hat trick with her third of four goals to regain the lead. Lauren Toy ’16 and Gion followed to give Bruno its first lead, putting the Bears up 8-7 with eight minutes left. As the game clock counted down the final minutes, though, Denver got on the board twice more, defeating the Bears with a go-ahead goal in the last minute of play.
Dartmouth 10, Brown 9
On Saturday, a second-half comeback attempt proved successful, but this time it came from Brown’s opponent. Facing Ivy rival Dartmouth, the Bears dominated the first half. Preventing the Big Green from even getting on the board until the last two minutes of the period, Bruno secured a 5-2 lead with goals from Erin Roos ’14, Hudgins, Hunt and Healy.
Liz Calby and Jaclyn Leto netted seven of the Big Green’s 10 goals, including two by Calby at the end of the first period.
“Coming out (against Dartmouth) and going up 5-0 shows what we we’re capable of. … The potential to bust open is there,” Hudgins said. “We can never be complacent, we have to play with this constant fire and edge to keep going and keep pushing.”
Dartmouth returned from the locker room on fire, scoring after just 30 seconds to narrow Brown’s lead to 5-3. Hudgins followed up with a goal to complete her hat trick, but Calby responded to complete her own hat trick and make the score 6-4. Toy and Alyssa DiBona ’15 each scored to give Bruno an 8-4 lead with 20 minutes to play. It would not be enough, as the Big Green scored four in a row — three from Leto — to tie the game at eight. With 10 minutes left and an Ivy game on the line, Walsh scored to put Brown up by one. Three minutes later, Dartmouth retaliated to tie the game at nine with less than seven minutes remaining. Neither team could score until the last 15 seconds, when Calby scored her fourth goal of the game to hand Bruno its first Ivy loss of the year.
Brown now sits in second place in the Ivy League, tied with Princeton, Dartmouth and Harvard, while Penn leads the conference.
“We have a long road ahead of us,” Hudgins said. “But we know what we’re capable of. Every game from here on up is going to be a battle.”
The Bears will make the quick trip to Bryant University (6-2) Tuesday as the two teams compete for the Ocean State Cup. Bruno hopes to maintain possession of the title after a 12-9 win last year.
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