After an impressive win against Columbia last weekend, Yale welcomes a strong Brown squad to Reese Stadium for Senior Day on Saturday.
A win would give the Bulldogs (5–7–3, 2–3 Ivy) a 3–3 Ivy League record as they look to end the 2009 season with some momentum.
Standing in Yale’s way are the Bears (8–2–5, 3–2), who have been nationally ranked for much of the season on their way to outscoring their opponents by a margin of 26–13.
“Brown has been one of the top teams in the region all season,” head coach Brian Tompkins said. “They are athletic, organized and very competitive.”
The Elis beat Brown 2–0 in a rainy contest in Providence, R.I., last season, with forward Aden Farina-Henry ’11 and midfielder Sam Post ’09 scoring for the Elis.
Tompkins said the teams had competed in class battles over the past few seasons and expected Saturday’s game to be no different.
Like the Elis, Brown has defeated Columbia and Cornell, and lost to Penn. Brown also beat Princeton, whom Yale will face in its final game of the regular season.
Tompkins said that this week the team has been working on consistency both on offensive and defensive since Saturday’s game against Columbia.
“We will need to be at our best to get the result we want and even our Ivy League record,” Tompkins said.
Undoubtedly Saturday’s win against Columbia provided some much-needed confidence to the Bulldogs, yet confidence alone is not enough for another victory.
“Winning Ivy games on the road is always good for building confidence but we know there will be no room to take anything for granted with our remaining games,” Tompkins said.
The Class of 2010’s final home game begins at 4:30 p.m. Yale’s five seniors, midfielder Jon Carlos’10, goalkeeper Travis Chulick ’10, midfielder Kevin Pope ’10, midfielder Jordan Raybould ’10 and defender Justin Song ’10, will be recognized prior to kickoff.