The women’s soccer team will face its final test on the road when it travels to New York to take on Columbia this Saturday.
Despite losing ground in the race for the Ivy League crown with a 2–0 loss at Penn last weekend, the Bulldogs (8–5–2, 3–2 Ivy) remain in a three-way tie for third in the Ancient Eight standings alongside Columbia (6–9, 3–2) and Brown (4–1–1, 3–2). Yale currently trails first-place Harvard by four points.
With just two games left to play in the season, head coach Rudy Meredith said the team is focused on closing out the year on a high note.
“We want to finish off strong,” Meredith said. “With all the injuries we’ve had, I think if we ended the season 5–2 in conference I would be very happy.”
The Elis will enter the weekend coming off a 4–0 shutout of Saint Peter’s on Monday night at Reese Stadium. Forward Mary Kubiuk ’13 scored twice in the first half to give the Bulldogs an early lead that withstood the second half. Forwards Meredith Speck ’15 Anne Song ’13 also netted goals in the match.
Though the Bulldogs took a season-high 37 shots against the Peahens, Meredith said he does not expect the team to replicate that impressive statistic when it takes on Columbia this Saturday.
“We had more shots than a flu clinic on Monday, but that isn’t going to happen this weekend,” he said. “The shots are probably going to be much harder to find in this game than on Monday, so we’re going to have to be patient and focus on the ball.”
Midfielder Enma Mullo ’12 leads the Bulldogs’ offense with six goals and four assists for a total of 16 points. Forward Melissa Gavin ’15 is second on the team after accruing five goals and five assists.
Like the Elis, the Lions also earned a win on Monday night after knocking off Manhattan, 1–0. Sophomore midfielder Natalie Melo scored the lone goal of the match to power Columbia past the Lady Jaspers.
Columbia is led by senior forward Ashlin Yahr, who has a team-high six points after racking up two goals and two assists this season. Goalkeeper Lillian Klein has played the majority of minutes in goal for the Lions posting a 1.25 goals-against average while stopping a league-best 60 shots.
Last year, the Bulldogs spoiled the Lions’ bid for the Ivy League title after Kristen Forster ’13 scored in the 87th minute to break a 1–1 deadlock and lead Yale to a 2–1 win over Columbia.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Columbia Soccer Stadium in New York.