The field hockey team (4-5, 1-1 Ivy) defeated the Dartmouth Big Green (4-6, 0-2 Ivy) in a commanding 3-0 victory Saturday at Goldberger Family Field. The win earned the Bears their first victory of the Ivy League season. Bruno out-shot the Big Green 17-7, picking up momentum with an early goal from Emma Rosen ’22 and never looking back.
Head Coach Jill Reeve noted how proud she was of the team’s effort on offense, with every player on the field contributing to the win. “What I’m most proud of is that this was a team win. We were able to play like ourselves, strung passes together and (we) really made a unified effort,” Reeve said.
Rosen sparked the Bears’ offense in the first 45 seconds of the second quarter with a goal off an assist from Chloe Perel ’23 that resulted from a scramble in front of the net. Bruno then doubled its lead in the last few seconds of the third quarter off a penalty corner from Chloe Sik ’25 to Dani van Rootselaar ’22. This was one of eight game-leading shots on goal for van Rootselaar as she continued to prove herself as the driving force behind the Bears’ offense.
Midfielder Mikayla Walsh ’25 put the game out of the Big Green’s reach early in the fourth quarter, scoring off a feed from Lindsey Ross ’23 from the center of the circle. From there, the Bears cruised to a win over their Ivy League rivals.
The Bears’ dominant defense was led by goalkeeper Calista Manuzza ’23. Manuzza earned the first win of her career in goal, notching seven saves. She stepped up after starting goalkeeper Jodie Brine ’23 suffered a concussion against Georgetown University in Brown’s previous game. Although her start was a last-minute change, she felt no pressure stepping into the role. “The warm-up was absolutely flawless,” Manuzza said. “I had no nerves coming into this game because we came into it knowing what we had to do to win.”
While Brown was missing a few players due to injury, the Bears also regained strength with the return of key contributors from COVID-19 protocols, including team captain Rosen. “It was a really great team win to come back to,” Rosen said. “There were a lot of connecting passes and I think everyone (was) just enjoying themselves out there. After the pandemic and losing yet another couple of games from a COVID hiccup, it’s just great to be out there.”
The Bears travel to Worcester, Massachusetts for a non-conference match-up against the College of the Holy Cross Tuesday at 6 p.m. This w ill be the last game of Bruno’s non-conference schedule before they dive headfirst into Ivy League play.
“We just need to stay focused and keep the effort up moving forward as we head into Ivy League competition,” Reeve said. “There is so much room to grow and I’m so excited for this team specifically to showcase what they have to offer.”
