Soccer is a team sport, but all eyes were on forward Brad Rose ’11 and goalkeeper Travis Chulick ’10 in the men’s soccer team’s win against Columbia on Saturday.
The Bulldogs (5–7–3, 2–3 Ivy) treated themselves to a 2–1 Halloween victory over the Lions (4–9–1, 2–3) at the Columbia Soccer Stadium for their second conference win of the season.
Rose delivered two goals a mere three minutes and 22 seconds apart at 31:55 and 35:17, while Chulick had seven saves on the night, including a remarkable six to preserve Yale’s lead in the second half.
Columbia’s James Prince opened the scoring at 20:25, yet the Bulldogs, who have gone scoreless in their last two contests, would not let the Lions’ goal go unanswered.
“We let in a goal 20 minutes in, and for our offense to respond like that was really great and bailed me out for allowing a goal,” Chulick said.
Rose’s first goal was a header off of a cross from midfielder Jon Carlos ’10. For his second goal, Rose worked his way up the left side of the field and finished his drive with a shot from 15 yards out.
“If you give Brad opportunities, he has proven he’s a very good finisher,” head coach Brian Tompkins said. “His first goal was a good as goal as we’ve seen all season.”
Rose’s two goals make him the leading scorer for the Bulldogs; he has garnered six goals and 16 points so far this season.
Throughout the second half of the game, Columbia pressured the Elis’ defense in an attempt to even up the score. The away squad, looking to preserve its one-goal lead, in turn prioritized defense over offense to deal with Columbia’s increased attack, captain Jordan Raybould ’10 said.
The Lions outshot the Bulldogs 16–12 in the game and 12–4 in the second half, yet failed to penetrate the Bulldogs’ defensive line.
And when they did, Chulick came up big in net for the away squad.
“He [Chulick] has proven his quality as a goalkeeper time and time again this season,” Tompkins said. “He made a couple of crucial saves that kept us in the game and preserved the win. He was outstanding.”
Chulick credited his team’s defense in dealing with Columbia’s pressure and forcing Lion attackers to take difficult shots from wide.
“It’s always good for the team’s confidence to get an Ivy road win,” Tompkins said. “Momentum is a huge part of college soccer. We are hoping this will give us momentum for our game against Brown.”
Next Saturday the Bulldogs will take on Brown at 4:30 p.m. in Yale’s last home game of the season.