PROVIDENCE, RI - Senior Jesse Nunn (Worton, MD) led four different scorers with three goals to lead the Bears (7-8, 3-4) to a 7-5 win over Yale (5-10, 1-6) in the final game of the 2009 season. Perhaps more critical for the Bears' win than her three goals, was an assist on the game-winning goal, which came with 7:51 remaining and broke a 5-5 tie after Yale had scored four unanswered goals, while holding the Bears scoreless for nearly 36 minutes.

The victory gives Brown three Ivy League wins for the first time since 2003 when the Bears were also 3-4, as Brown finishes the 2009 season tied for fourth place in the League, its highest finish since 1999.

Nunn started things off for Brown when she connected on a free position goal just 2:17 into the game. The Bulldogs' Jenn Warden knotted the game at 1-1 at exactly seven minutes in, scoring her first of four goals.

However, Brown would score the next four goals, including two in the next 2:28, as sophomore Alexa Caldwell (Middletown, DE) and Nunn both scored unassisted tallies at 8:32 and 9:28, respectively, to give Brown a 3-1 lead.

Freshman Kaela McGilloway (Sea Cliff, NY) then deposited back-to-back goals, the first of which was assisted by junior Molly McCarthy (Scituate, MA) and the second of which came on another 8-meter attempt, as the Bears held a 5-1 lead with 13:24 left in the first half.

The Bulldogs closed the gap to just three goals when Logan Greer scored on another free position shot at 19:41, as Brown held a 5-2 lead at the break. The Bears were not without chances during the final 10 minutes of the half, but Yale goalie, Whitney Quackenbush, who made just one save on Brown's first six shots, ended the half with four straight saves to keep the Bulldogs in the game.

Warden and Quackenbush then took over for Yale with Warden scoring three straight goals to open the second half, all unassisted, and tying the game at 5-5 with 11:23 left to play. At the other end of the field, Quackenbush stopped everything that Brown threw at her, making five straight saves to open the second half of play.

McCarthy finally got one past Quackenbush when she connected off a beautiful feed from Nunn to give the Bears the lead for good. Following the goal, Yale began to pressure everywhere on the field. Brown was able to maintain possession for the most part, but had another shot with just over three minutes left denied by Quackenbush.

Yale raced back the other way, but a turnover gave Brown another chance and with Quakenbush out of the net to help pressure the ball, senior Bethany Buzzell (Middletown, MD) fed a wide-open Nunn in front of the empty net and Nunn fired it in with 56 seconds remaining for the 7-5 final.

The Bulldogs won the ensuing draw control and Warden raced in on the Bears, but freshman Isabel Harvey (Baltimore, MD) stopped Yale's leading scorer with her sixth save of the night to hold onto the two-goal lead.

Senior Lauren Vitkus (Skaneateles, NY) led Brown with five draw controls, while Nunn paced Brown with five caused turnovers and four ground balls.

* * * *

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Yale rallied from a 5-1 deficit to tie the game 5-5 with 11:23 to play Wednesday night at Brown, but Bears midfielder Molly McCarthy broke the tie with 7:51 left and attacker Jesse Nunn added an insurance goal in the final minute for the 7-5 final. Senior midfielder Jenn Warden scored four goals for Yale, all unassisted, and sophomore midfielder Logan Greer scored the other Yale goal on a free position shot. Freshman goalkeeper Whitney Quackenbush made 11 saves, holding Brown to a 3 for 7 performance on free position attempts.

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2009-04-30