The women’s soccer team closed out its non-conference schedule on a high note with a 4-0 defeat of Saint Peter’s on Monday night at Reese Stadium.
Forward Mary Kubiuk ’13 scored twice in the first half, and the Bulldogs (8-5-2, 3-2 Ivy) added a pair of goals after halftime to hand the Peahens’ (2-14-1) their third consecutive loss. The Elis finished with a 37-9 edge in shots. In her fourth start of the season, goalkeeper Elise Wilcox ’15 made three saves to post her second shutout for the Bulldogs — the team’s sixth this season.
“I think this game was important for us to get back on track and show a 100 percent effort for 90 minutes,” Kubiuk said. “We wanted to come out and have a better effort than we had against Penn this weekend,”
On Saturday, the Bulldogs fell 2–0 at Penn. The loss broke a three-game win streak.
Against the Quakers, the team was hurt by a slow start. But this was not the case Monday night.
Dominating possession throughout the first half, Yale played predominantly on the Peahens’ half of the field and outshot Saint Peter’s 17-2.
The Bulldogs got on the board just 12 minutes into the match with Kubiuk’s first goal of the night. Midfielder Juliann Jeffrey ’14 fired a shot from the top of box that Saint Peter’s goalkeeper Caitlin Hoffer deflected. But Kubiuk fielded the rebound and shot the ball just inside the far post to give Yale an early 1-0 lead.
Kubiuk added a second goal in the 27th minute to double the Bulldogs’ advantage. Forward Melissa Gavin ’15 set up the goal by sending a shot into the box that Hoffer fumbled. The ball bounced out in front of the near post and was heading towards the end line, but Kubiuk quickly retrieved it and chipped it over Hoffer into the back of the net.
“That’s a prime example of a play that was just based on effort and not giving up,” head coach Rudy Meredith said. “That’s the type of play we need from our team.”
The Elis did not allow a shot until the 40th minute when Peahen midfielder Jamie Lisanti came down the far side of the field and sent a cross into the box. Wilcox came out to intercept the cross but fumbled the ball. Lisanti came in to get her own rebound, but her shot hit the side of the net.
Despite a 2-0 lead, Yale did not let up its attack after halftime and continued to test the Peahens throughout the second half.
The Elis pressured the Peahens with back-to-back corner kicks in the 60th minute, but they could not capitalize on either attempt.
“We had a lot of crosses today, and I said that I thought we were more afraid of crosses than Dracula,” Meredith said. “I made a joke on the bench because we couldn’t do anything with crosses.”
Still, Saint Peter’s threatened in the 73rd minute when forward Emily Fenice fired a shot that forced Wilcox to dive to the right for a save.
But the Elis found the back of the net for the third time at the 76:13 mark when midfielder Meredith Speck ’15 took a pass from forward Melissa Gavin ’15 and beat Hoffer with a left-footed shot.
Just as the final minute of the game was winding down, the Bulldogs struck for the final time. Forward Anne Song ’13 buried a 20-yard shot inside the far post and landed her first goal of the season.
“I think it was really important that we kept pushing and didn’t give up a goal,” Kubiuk said. “It was nice to get two more goals [after halftime].”
The Bulldogs are off until Saturday when they travel to New York to face Columbia.
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.