After a heart-breaking overtime loss to No. 20 UMass Sunday, the field hockey team will have an opportunity to take out its frustration on rival Harvard when the Bulldogs (3–1) travel to Cambridge Saturday. The Elis then return home to Johnson Field for a non-conference matchup with Maine Sunday afternoon.
Sunday’s showdown with the Minutewomen saw Yale take a 2–0 lead, only to see it slip away in the second half — a second half that saw UMass benefit from eight corners in a five-minute span, of which they converted two. After a solid defensive effort to start the extra period, the Bulldog backfield finally broke down, relinquishing the winning goal 12 minutes into overtime.
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Harvard is coming off a tough loss of its own, having dropped a double-overtime thriller against the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vt., on Sunday. The Crimson also lost to Maine — the Bulldogs’ Sunday opponent — 2–1 the previous day. Harvard is 2–2 on the season, and led in scoring by forward Chloe Keating, who has four goals and three assists so far this season.
Maine comes into the weekend 4–2 on the season, and received votes in last week’s national poll. Kelly Newton’s five goals and three assists have set the pace so far for the Black Bears, who take on Bryant Friday night.
The Bulldogs are led into this weekend by the play of two freshmen, Erica Borgo ’14 and Georgia Holland ’14, last week and this week’s Ivy League Rookies of the Week, respectively. Borgo had eight points in her first collegiate weekend against Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac, and Holland had five points last weekend to keep the award in New Haven.
Borgo, Holland and the rest of the Bulldogs will get their chance to avenge Sunday’s lost and beat up on a bitter rival when they travel to Cambridge Saturday for a contest that begins at 2 p.m. Yale faces Maine at home the following day at that same time.