After 100 minutes of scoreless action, the Yale field hockey team found itself in a shootout against an Ivy rival. But the Elis were unable to muster a goal against Penn on Saturday, falling in double overtime 1–0 and 2–1 in the shootout.

Yale (6–8, 2–3 Ivy) had a chance to improve its record to .500 on the road against Penn (11–3, 4–1) on Saturday, but the game remained scoreless throughout regulation and two 15-minute overtime periods. The game went to a best-of-five shootout where the Quakers scored two goals to the Elis’ one, resulting in the final score of 1–0.

“We fought hard but sometimes tight games like that don’t go your way,” Emily Schuckert ’14 said.

The Bulldogs had opportunities throughout the game and a decided advantage in shots, taking 27 shots to Penn’s 14, but the Quakers’ outstanding goalkeeper Carly Sokach totaled 15 saves during the game, keeping Yale from scoring.

Just as the Elis were unable to find the back of the net, the Bulldog defense also kept the Quakers from scoring before the shootout.

“I think, as far as our play, we did what we needed to give ourselves the opportunities to score,” head coach Pam Stuper said. “We dominated in the stats column in terms of shots. Our defense was outstanding; we held Penn, who has scored 50 goals, and 38 by their front three, scoreless over 100 minutes … it was a tremendous effort to keep them off the scoreboard.”

The Bulldog pressure paid dividends in the second half when the team generated nine penalty corners to Penn’s five. This effort came after the Elis earned only two penalty corners in the first half to Penn’s six.

Even as Yale kept piling on shots and applying pressure, the Elis were unable to get one into the back of the cage.

“We just struggled to find the back of the net and it carried over from regulation to overtime and the shootout,” Stuper said. “If one of our 16 shots on goal had fallen in, the game would have been over.”

After 100 minutes of intense play, the game came down to a shootout. Neither team scored in the first two rounds, but Penn scored first in the third on a goal by attacker Elizabeth Hitti. Schuckert scored a goal in the fourth round to bring the score to 1–1. In the last round, Penn attacker Julie Tahan scored.

The pressure then fell to the Eli captain, midfielder/back Georgia Holland ’14, to attempt to tie the game. But Holland was tripped on her shootout attempt by Sokach, and was then awarded a penalty stroke, which was denied by the Penn keeper to give the Quakers the victory.

“[The shootout] is something we practice,” Stuper said. “We scored one of five. One of our players slipped and didn’t even have the chance at scoring. The goalie took out one of our players, who was then awarded a penalty stroke. The goalie did the same thing to another player, who could have also been awarded a penalty stroke, but wasn’t. We were unlucky.”

The way in which the Elis dropped the contest symbolized a disheartening trend that has followed the team throughout the year — this is the fourth one-goal loss for Yale this season.

The Elis face Columbia on the road on Friday in an attempt to bring their Ivy League record to an even .500.

ASHLEY WU