Another night, another winning streak snapped by the Yale women’s soccer team.

The Elis (6-4, 1-0 Ivy) rolled past their fifth-straight opponent last night as they bested Quinnipiac (7-2) under the lights at Reese Stadium. Although the Bobcats rallied late in the game to give the Bulldogs a scare, a pair of goals by rookie Kate Macauley ’11 helped the squad sneak past their crosstown rival, 2-1.

“It was one of those games where you walk away and you say a win is a win,” captain Mary Kuder ’08 said. “We didn’t quite play our game, but we got the goals that we needed to.”

The Elis got on the board at 21:53 when midfielder Natalia Mann ’09 intercepted a failed Quinnipiac clear and found Macauley, who fired a hard shot into the upper right-hand corner. Macauley’s second goal came after the break, when she settled a cross from Caitlin Collins ’10 and put the ball past the Quinnipiac keeper to increase the Elis’ lead.

But the Bobcats continued to fight back, netting a goal with just 4:15 remaining on the clock to close the gap to one. As the pressure mounted in front of the Yale goal, goaltender Ayana Sumiyasu ’11 helped keep the Bulldogs ahead with some quick thinking, tipping a Quinnipiac cross over the back of the goal with just two minutes left to play.

“We really needed a third goal to put it away, but Quinnipiac fought hard the whole game,” Macauley said. “[The fact] that we were on our heels at the end of the game gives a lot of credit to them.”

Head coach Rudy Meredith said this was one of the best Quinnipiac teams he has ever seen. The Bulldogs hold an all-time 7-0 record against the Bobcats, but coming into yesterday’s game, Quinnipiac was 7-1, having lost only their season opener to Lehigh.

Much of Quinnipiac’s success this season may be due to the addition of goalkeeper Chloe Beizer ’07 to the Bobcats’ roster. Beizer is a familiar face to the Bulldogs, as she played for Yale as an undergraduate and helped lead the team to an Ivy League Championship in 2005 and an unprecedented run in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, Beizer was injured before the start of the season and received a medical redshirt, leaving her with one remaining year of eligibility.

“She definitely is a big influence on their team,” Kuder said. “She brought up the level of that team, and I think that helped them a lot last night. She came up with some pretty big saves. It was a bigger challenge than other years.”

Macauley — who watched Beizer play with her older sister Mimi Macauley ’07 — said Beizer was particularly vocal in organizing the Quinnipiac defense, which made several key stops to keep the game close. Beizer finished the game with six saves.

The victory should help build the Bulldogs’ confidence as they gear up to face Dartmouth (2-7, 0-1) this weekend. Last year’s game against the Big Green — the first in a series of the losses and ties that plagued the middle of the Bulldogs’ season — was one of the low points in the Elis’ season. Players said they are looking to play their style of soccer this weekend and avenge last year’s loss.

“We just have to get up for the game like we usually do,” Kuder said. “We should have success if we play our game.”