October 19, 2006

Providence, RI (CSTV U-WIRE) -- Brown gave No. 14 Providence College its best effort for a full 70 minutes Wednesday, but Providence broke a 1-1 tie with a goal 9:57 into overtime to to send the Bears to their second straight loss. The 2-1 loss dropped Brown to 7-4 overall (3-1 Ivy League).

Providence's excellent speed and stick-handling ability was apparent from the beginning of the game. Every time they won a ball on defense, the Friars quickly transitioned into an offensive mindset, with midfielders making runs toward the corner and forwards charging toward the circle.

Providence scored less than 10 minutes into the first half. A Friar defender stole the ball off a Brown inbounds play and quickly passed up the right side to midfield. PC then moved the ball into the middle of the circle and launched a shot. Goaltender Kristen Hodavance '08 made the first save, but Providence slapped home the rebound for an early lead.

In response to Providence's offensive capabilities, the Bears took a conservative approach, keeping more players back to limit breakaways and only making offensive runs when they had a good opportunity.

"We took them out of their game a little bit," said Head Coach Carolan Norris. "We knew they were a tremendous breakaway team with great individual speed, so we had (the team) front them."

After sorting out its defense, Brown began to move into PC's half of the field more often. In the 22nd minute, Brown was fouled just outside the circle. Sara Eaton '09 chipped the ball into the box, dropping it in front of the goaltender. Andrea Posa '08 then scooped up the ball and flipped it over the goalie and into the back left corner of the cage. The goal was Posa's eighth of the year, giving her the team and Ivy League lead.

Both teams' defenses held and the first half ended with the score tied at 1-1.

Providence came out strong after intermission, dominating the first 20 minutes of the half. However, with 14:16 to go in regulation, the referees gave Providence's Emily Ewen a yellow card for "inappropriate language." The card forced Ewens to leave the field and gave Brown a five-minute man-advantage. Norris said she "would've died" if the Bears had been penalized for this offense at this point in the game. While Bruno failed to capitalize on the opportunity, it kept up its offensive and defensive pressure, refusing to allow a goal before the half ended.

In overtime, Providence's speed gave it the upper hand. Because overtime is played with seven players on each side, including the goalie, Providence had even more room to maneuver. It earned five corners to none for Brown, and out-shot the Bears 6-0 in the extra period. With 5:03 to play, Providence tallied the winning goal off a deflection that beat Hodavance just over left shoulder.

Despite allowing the final goal, Hodavance's play was spectacular. She faced a barrage of shots from the Friars, who out-shot the Bears 23-9. Hodavance saved 12 shots, a new personal season high. The performance was a bounce-back from the six goals the team allowed this past weekend at Princeton.

Hodavance agreed that this game showed a marked improvement.

"The Princeton game was pretty rough," she said. "I tried not to think about it too much. I play much better when I'm having fun, so I just tried to have a good time and stay in the moment."

This weekend the Bears face a busy schedule. The team plays Cornell on Saturday at 12 p.m. and Bucknell at 1 p.m. on Sunday. After losing two games in a row for the first time all season, the Bears are hoping to emerge Sunday with a two-game winning streak.

"We're just going to look at (this weekend) as an opportunity to get two wins back," said Ani Kazarian '08.

(C) 2006 Brown Daily Herald via CSTV U-WIRE