The Yale field hockey team (4–5, 2–1) steamrolled Cornell (3–5, 0–3) 7–2 and lost a close game 0–1 to No. 4 UConn (10-1, 3-0 Big East) this weekend.
Saturday marked a decisive win for the Bulldogs and the worst loss of the season for the Big Red — the most lopsided in 30 years since 1981, when Yale won 10-1 to Cornell.
Although Cornell entered the week boasting the best combined percentage in the country; goalie Alex Botte’s .829 save percentage individually placed her second in the NCAA. The Big Red could do little against Yale’s strong offense, which blasted 32 shots. Yale currently stands sixth in the country in scoring.
Yale dominated every moment of the game against Cornell.
“We did a great job coming out hard and controlling the tempo of the game,” midfielder Dinah Landshut ’12 said. From the start, the Bulldogs aggressively racked up six shots starting with one from forward Mia Rosati ’12 in the eighth minute — a career high as her sixth goal of the year — assisted by Landshut. Forward/midfielder Kirsten Krebs ’12 and back/midfielder Chelsey Locarno ’12, with assists by midfielder/back Georgia Holland ’14, struck one goal each in a four-minute span, bringing up Yale to lead 3–0. At halftime the Bulldogs led with a 19–2 shot advantage.
Cornell forwards Brittany Thompson and Christine Hibler scored two goals in a span of 98 seconds, bringing the Big Red up to 3–2. But Yale quickly re-established its dominance.
“Instead of getting back on our heels, we answered immediately and made up for that lapse,” head coach Pam Stuper said about the rebound in a press release. Yale scored four more goals to bring a 7–2 victory for the team.
This win brought Yale up to a tie for second in the league standings with Columbia, Harvard and Princeton. Dartmouth stands as the league’s only 3–0 team.
The Bulldogs faced a tough match on Sunday against the undefeated UConn Huskies, who left the Bulldogs just short of an upset. UConn forward Marie Elena Bolles scored the only goal in the second half that would bring the Huskies a 1–0 win.
Historically speaking, the results were startling. When the teams last played a year ago, the Huskies outshot the Bulldogs 25-2 and Yale suffered a decisive loss 7-1. This game marked the third time UConn has been limited to fewer than two goals.
The two teams shot aggressively throughout the game. Both were unyielding to corner shots and were evenly matched in the first half.
“Both teams wound up doing a good job, keeping each other scoreless on them,” said Stuper in a press release.
UConn shot a corner 30 seconds into the match but failed to score. Yale’s defense limited the Huskies to no goals off corners. Back Taylor Sankovich ’12 got a corner 90 seconds in, but her shot could not get past the goalpost.
Yale came close to goals on a few occasions but could not pass through UConn keeper Sarah Mansfield, the reigning Big East Goalkeeper of the Year. The game marked Mansfield’s 11th shutout of her career.
“We proved that we can play with the No. 4 team in the country,” said Landshut. “Next time we are aiming to have this show in the results.”
This weekend the Bulldogs will play in the Midwest against No. 14 Michigan (8–3, 1–1 Big Ten) and No. 16 Northwestern (10–4, 1–2 Big Ten).
Goalie Ona McConnell ’13 said while the games against top-20 powerhouses will bring challenges, she said the team “can definitely go out and win.”