The women’s soccer team wraps up its 2011 season with a matchup against Brown this Saturday at Reese Stadium.
Though Harvard’s 2-1 win over Dartmouth on Saturday knocked the Elis out of the race for the Ivy League title last week, the Bulldogs can still clinch second place with a combination of a win over Brown and a Penn loss. Yale (8-5-3, 3-2-1 Ivy) and Brown (10-4-2, 3-2-1) are currently tied for third-place in the Ivy League, alongside Columbia.
The game will be the last for the team’s two seniors, captain Miyuki Hino ’12 and midfielder Enma Mullo ’12, who will both be honored prior to kickoff.
“If we somehow managed to [finish in second] after all these injuries it would definitely be considered a successful season, under the circumstances,” head coach Rudy Meredith said.
The Bulldogs last played on Sunday when they earned a 2-2 tie against Columbia. Though a pair of goals from Ashlin Yahr gave the Lions a 2-1 lead midway through the second half, Mullo scored with just eight minutes left on the clock to tie the game and force overtime.
Mullo currently leads the Elis with seven goals and 18 points this year. After a five-point performance over two games last week, forward Melissa Gavin ’15 earned Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors on Monday for the second time this season. Gavin has racked up a team-best six assists and is tied with Mullo for the team lead in points.
Brown will also enter the matchup coming off a deadlock after tying Dartmouth, 0-0, last Saturday. The Bears have not lost a game since falling 2-1 at Harvard on Oct. 15.
Forward Eliza Marshall has led the Bears’ attack this year with six goals and 15 points. Fellow strikers Kiersten Berg and Chloe Cross have also added four goals each.
Brown also features one of the stingiest defenses in the conference. The Bears’ defense has allowed just 13 goals this year, and its seven shutouts this season rank second in the Ivy League.
“We have to be really, really patient and try to figure out ways to open up their defense by getting the ball wide so we can spread their defense out a little bit,” Meredith said.
Goalkeepers MC Barrett and Amber Bledsoe have both seen time in front of the net for the Bears. The duo have posted 0.70 and 0.77 goals against averages, respectively, which rank second and third among Ancient Eight keepers.
In last year’s season finale, Kristen Forster ’13 and Mary Kubiuk ’13 both scored to power the Elis to a 2-1 win over the Bears in Providence.
Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Reese Stadium.