The luckless field hockey team is hoping to prove that video tape never lies. A controversial penalty corner may have contributed to the Red’s demise Saturday, when it fell to Brown, 2-1.
“I’m sending the video to the Ivy League assigner,” Hornibrook said. “The ball was shot on a penalty corner waist high and they said that the ball was tipped by the Brown player. The video I have shows not a stick within two feet of her. The ball needs to be below the height of the back board in order to count.”
The questionable goal came with less than eight minutes to play and proved to be the deciding tally. Brown junior Kristen Vincent fired a hard shot from the top of the circle that sophomore Tracy Dungo deflected into the goal.
Even after falling behind late in the game, the Red fought back. As time expired, Red freshman Katie Bradshaw’s penalty corner shot hit the post and Brown cleared the ball out of the circle to preserve the 2-1 win.
The Red offense dominated Brown in the first half, recording seven shots and seven penalty corners, but could not capitalize. Brown scored the first goal of the game less than 10 minutes into the second half when senior Julia Kelderman scored her first career goal on a penalty corner.
The Red answered in 58th minute when senior co-captain Gina Testa blasted a shot into the back of the Brown net on a penalty corner. The goal was assisted by junior co-captain Blair Corcoran and set the stage for controversial finish.
“The team played well,” Hornibrook said. “We lack that little of that competitive edge that teams need to win those kinds of games. We created more scoring chances and penalty corners on Saturday than we have in three weeks. Playing well and winning are two different things — the team is not satisfied.”
Yesterday, the Red lost to Connecticut, 6-0. Ranked seventh nationally, the Huskies lead the Big East in overall scoring and have allowed the least number of goals. The Husky victory was Connecticut head coach Nancy Stevens’ 400th win.
From the outset, the game belonged to the Huskies. Scoring began just over five minutes into the game when Lindsay Belli scored her first of three goals on the day. The Red responded to the challenge and buckled down on defense.
Holding Connecticut off the scoreboard for more than 20 minutes, the Red eventually succumbed to Husky attack in the 25th minute with sophomore Meagan Hoffman recording the tally.
Down 2-0, the Red defense dug in but could not stop the Huskies. With one second remaining in the half, senior Lauren Henderson notched Connecticut’s third goal of the game.
“We played really well in the first half,” Hornibrook said. “We had a break away and the Connecticut player just got back and deflected the ball wide. The disappointing thing is that we gave up a goal with a second left in the half.”
The second half opened with a quick Husky goal. A mere 21 seconds into the half, Lauren Hennessy scored an unassisted goal. Again, the Red stepped up on defense and kept off Connecticut off the boards until Belli scored in the 48th minute. Belli completed her hat trick and the Connecticut scoring eight minutes later. The Red managed three shots in the game and Blutinger made eight saves.
“We’re competing but we’re not getting the job done,” Hornibrook said. “We knew Connecticut would be tough and the score does not flatter us but we took some positives out of the game. We’re getting there but we’re just short. Brown was a winnable game if we had just done the job in the first half and finished on our scoring chances.”
Archived article by James Rich
Sun Staff Writer