The women’s soccer team took on UMass-Amherst and UConn this past week, finishing with a victory and a loss, respectively.
Brown 2, UMass 0
Bruno (3-3-0) clashed with the Minutewomen (2-5-2) of UMass at Stevenson Field Thursday. Erin Katz ’16 tallied her first goal of the season in the sixth minute, and Chloe Cross ’15 added one herself with an excellent strike in the 67th minute. Mallory Yant ’15 posted a shutout with six saves to give the Bears a solid 2-0 victory.
The Bears jumped out to an early lead thanks to the linkup between Katz, Cross and Allie Reilly ’15. After a calculated give-and-go between Cross and Reilly at the top of the box, Reilly took the ball out wide right. She then deftly cut in with a feint that left her defender behind and whipped in a low cross, which Katz skillfully flicked in with her heel, finishing a great team move and giving Bruno a 1-0 lead.
“Last night, we showed up with a high energy level and a sense of urgency, and we played really well together as a unit,” said Ella Warshauer ’17. “This was really clearly manifested in the passing sequence leading up to the first goal, where we managed to get a number of players involved in scoring.”
Katz nearly doubled her total just two minutes later when she headed a cross from a corner kick onto goal. But the UMass goalie dove and saved the ball just in time, avoiding what would have been a 2-0 hole. Minutes later, Katz had another great opportunity when she blasted a shot from the top of the box, which was parried away by the UMass goalie once again. Despite the fact that the teams were tied in shots 7-7 by halftime, the Bears seemed to have had the better chances.
The teams exchanged a few half chances at the beginning of the second half. Then, in the 67th minute, Cross doubled the lead with a wonder strike. She had the ball about 40 yards or so out from goal, cut in and smashed a shot that sailed over the keeper’s head, redirected off the crossbar and into the net for her third goal of the season.
Yant was perfect at the back, stopping all six of UMass’s shots on target. The teams finished tied in shots at 14-14, with Brown holding the advantage in shots on net, 11-6.
“It’s still early in the season, and we are improving with every practice and game, but the win versus UMass was really important … for keeping morale high going into Ivies,” Warshauer added.
UConn 2, Brown 0
The tables turned on Brown with a 2-0 defeat against UConn (7-2-1) Sunday at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium. The Huskies’ attack was unrelenting as they recorded 30 total shots, 14 of those on target. Despite the high volume of shots, Yant and Rylee Shumway ’18 kept Bruno in contention, making eight and four saves, respectively.
Samantha McGuire opened the scoring for the Huskies in the 17th minute with a strike from the top of the box that found its way inside the far post. UConn continued to bombard Brown’s defense and found another way through in the 34th minute, as Julie Hubbard slid a shot past Yant. The Bears only managed to get four shots on target in the first half.
Bruno attempted to find a way back into the game in the second half, but to no avail. The squad could only muster a total of two shots on target. But Shumway did get her first appearance of the season and stopped all four shots that came her way.
The loss evened Brown’s record at three. Bruno’s next match is at home Wednesday against Sacred Heart University (3-5-1) on Stevenson Field at 7 p.m.
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