By Matt Anastasi and Tim Foley, News Correspondents
On the way to what looked like it could be the first win of the 2013 season, the women’s soccer team went into halftime Thursday night with a 1-0 lead at Brown University, but they were stifled by the Bears in overtime and lost 2-1.
Thursday was the team’s third overtime game of the season, but the first that ended in a loss — the Huskies tied Northwestern University and the University of New Hampshire earlier in the season.
Head coach Tracey Leone said that compared to previous games played this season, the game against Brown offered a superior glimpse at the skill set of her team.
“It was really the first time we put a complete performance together,” she said. “We were focused, working hard, and battling. We gave a maximum effort which was really good to see. Results should come moving forward.”
The Huskies entered the game winless, aiming to spark some momentum against Brown, and the night seemed promising when in the 39th minute, Bianca Calderone scored her first goal of the season.
The junior defender from Wellesley displayed her versatility, converting her efforts on defense into much needed offensive contribution to give the Huskies the go ahead.
Heading into halftime with a 1-0 lead, Leone said the team was optimistic. The first half offered a defensive display from the Huskies, after junior goalkeeper Paige Burnett fended off seven shots on goal.
Unfortunately for Northeastern, the offense struggled to convert in the second half, taking only two shots compared to Brown’s nine.
“We need to get more numbers forward, and be hungry to score,” redshirt junior midfielder Hannah O’Donnell said. “We’ve been working on drills in practice lately where we have been focusing on putting away goals.”
Eventually the Bears’ offensive assault proved to be effective against the Huskies, who were unable to hang onto their one-goal lead. In the 78th minute, Brown’s Erin Katz erased the one point deficit with a header off of a free kick.
The late goal may have brought back memories of the Huskies’ first overtime game of the season; a hard fought battle against Northwestern which went into double overtime.
Unlike the Northwestern game, overtime against Brown was short lived. The penalty-ridden period ended at 5:33 with a goal from Brown’s Chloe Cross.
“It was definitely a heartbreaker,” O’Donnell said. “We really went into the game wanting to win, hungry to win. Unfortunately we lost in overtime, but I think that’s just going to spark a fire for the next game.”
While the loss was disappointing for the young Husky team, goalkeeper Burnett said she felt as if the team showed many positive elements of their game Thursday night.
“I think that we are getting a lot of chances,” Burnett said, “We just have to get a few in the back of net, and once we do that the floodgates will open because we have great finishers.”
Despite the difficult start to the season, Leone said her players are optimistic moving forward.
“We have a really good team,” Leone said. “We have a lot of belief in this team, and they know that. We just have to concentrate for a full 90 minutes and tidy up mistakes.”
The Huskies remain positive as they prepare for their game tomorrow night against the University of Maine (3-2-2).
“We are all really looking forward to playing Maine Friday,” Burnett said. “We’ve had a nice long rest in between games, and we are really looking for a win.”
