The Bulldogs dreaded the spoiler, but they proved tonight that their fears were baseless. In tonight’s College Cup first-round action, Central Connecticut put up a valiant stand, but in the end was no match for the Ivy League Champion women’s soccer team in tonight’s in-state battle.

Yale (14-3-1, 5-1-1 Ivy) handily knocked off the Blue Devils (17-4), 3-0, in tonight’s opening round game of the NCAA Tournament. The Elis’ victory sets up a second-round matchup against Duke Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.

The home team got on the scoreboard early when a scramble in front of the visiting net following a corner kick ended with defender Mary Kuder ’08 tapping the ball past Central Connecticut goalie Ashley Ferra for the 1-0 lead. Less than five minutes later, the Bulldogs doubled their lead on a textbook breakaway. Ivy League Rookie of the Year Crysti Howser ’09 directed a pass to fellow freshman Emma Whitfield ’09 from the top of the box, who then deposited it past Ferra.

The Elis got one more in the second half when Howser fed forward Mimi Macauley ’07 from the left corner.