The men’s soccer team lost another tough overtime contest to an Ivy League rival this past weekend at Reese Stadium.
The Bulldogs (3-5-2, 0-2 Ivy) fell by a score of 2–1 to current conference league-leaders No. 24 Dartmouth (7-2-1, 2-0) in overtime, dropping their league record to 0–2 on the season.
Forward Scott Armbrust ’13 scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season in the first half, but a pair of goals from Lucky Mkosona gave the Big Green the tough-earned road victory.
“We’ve played two of the toughest teams in the Ivy League, and we showed through our overtime losses that we can compete with both of them,” defender Justin Song ’10 said. (The Elis lost to eighth-ranked Harvard last Saturday in double overtime by a score of 1–0.)
The Bulldogs played hard in the first half Saturday, with Armburst giving Yale the lead in the 31st minute. Armbrust’s fellow forward Brad Rose ’11 beat Dartmouth goalkeeper Sean Donovan and created an easy goal-scoring opportunity for his teammate.
Midfielder Eric Meyer ’11 said Rose played one of the best game’s of his Yale career.
“Brad’s a junior, and I think he’s played his best in all the time that he’s been here,” Meyer said. “He did a great job creating chances for other people to score, battling for balls and putting pressure on the defender.”
Mkosona tied up the game midway through the second half, and he led his team to victory in the final minute of the first overtime period. Yale was unable to get any shots on target during overtime, while the Big Green scored on its fifth shot of the period.
Goalie Travis Chulick ’10, who led the game with five saves, said the Big Green’s victory stemmed from its ability to take control of the field.
“Their team was able to capitalize on more opportunities than us,” Chulick said. “It’s unfortunate that one of us had to lose, but playing Dartmouth was a step in the right direction for us.”
Although it’s too early to tell how the team will play during the rest of its season, the players claimed that holding a competitive team into overtime proves that they know what to do to get some conference wins.
“We just need to keep our heads up and bring the grit we’ve been playing with so far,” Song added. “That’s what’s going to get us a win this season.”
The Bulldogs will tackle the ball again this Tuesday when they travel to face Providence at 3 p.m. Yale’s next Ivy appointment is against Cornell on Oct. 17.