It was a close rally between the no. 12 Brown Bears and the Yale Bulldogs Saturday in a 13-9 Ivy League duel. Both teams came out strong on a windy and cold April day at Brown's Meister-Kavan Stadium in Providence. Before a tense crowd, the two teams battled it out for an ever important league win. With four teams in the top 15 from the Ivies, every game is huge for these teams and now is the time to get the win, no matter how you do it.
Frankly, it was anybody's game, which is often the case in Ivy League play. For Yale, there is no question that they had prepared hard for the game against the reigning Ivy League Co-Champs. They were ready to stop plays from happening and slow down the attacking Bears. Above all, they were ready to get the possession and run with it. Beginning at the midfield, the Ivy's top-ranked face-off specialist Kevin Discepolo earned 18-of-24 face-off possessions giving the Bulldogs the advantage of well, the ball, for much of the game. From the sidelines, Yale's speed and quickness also stood out. When they capitalized on a ground ball, they made the most of it, often by flying down to the other side of the field beating defenders for a quick play, a quick shot, and at times, a quick goal.
But, there is no denying the might of Brown's squad. The Bears made an impressive effort in the midfield and as the game went on, the Bears found the heart and the drive they have played with all season. After a quick run by Yale that evened things up at 3-3 in the second quarter, Brown fired back with two goals in just 14 seconds by first-year Rob Schlesinger and senior Kyle Hollingsworth to make it 5-3 with 7:49 left. The crowd was roaring on both ends and while Brown fans may have thought that was the end of their worries for the Bears, they were wrong.
Instead, Hollingsworth's goal would be the last from Brown for the half. Over the following minutes, Yale rallied past the Bears with four unanswered goals, two in the final 51 seconds to end the half with a 7-5 lead. Senior standout Mike Karwoski got one in for the Bulldogs in the second quarter as the Bears defense held him to just two goals on the day. The third quarter showed promise from both sides as each team put up two goals apiece, but the real shift in momentum came from the Bears at the onset of the final quarter.
The Brown defensive unit offered a promising performance in the final quarter in front of All-American goalie Jordan Burke. Burke who ended with 15 saves on the day was faced with just three shots in the final quarter as defensemen Peter Fallon, Ryan Cassil and Jake Westermann stepped up to deny the Bulldogs. But it was on the attack that onlookers could see a definite change of pace. The Bears were back and ready to prove their worth. After an unassisted mark by junior Collins Carey who is back after an injury, sophomore and team scoring leader Andrew Feinberg fired in another goal for the Bears off of an assist by Hollingsworth to tie things up at 9-9. Senior Jack Walsh then scored what would prove to be the game-winner off of an assist from classmate Brady Williams with 7:42 left to play. The Bears added three more goals to the score for a 13-9 victory over Yale to keep up hope to stay undefeated in the Ivy League.
Brown advances to 9-1 for the first time since 1991 when the Bears finished 13-1 overall. The Bear's look to extend their lead Saturday when they host Penn at 1:00 p.m.
Yale falls to 4-5 overall and 1-3 in the Ivy League with the loss. The Bulldogs are set to face Albany at home Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.
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