Just a week after its 4–2 triumph over Hofstra, the Yale field hockey team showed off its offensive prowess once again on Sunday with another victory by the same score.
This weekend the Bulldogs (4–2, 0–0 Ivy) lost narrowly to No. 17 Albany (4–3, 0–0 America East) on Saturday, with the scoreline reading 2–1, before emerging victorious over Georgetown Sunday (2–5, 0–0 Big East) in a dramatic game that saw the Bulldogs score four goals inside of six minutes at the beginning of the second half.
The Elis, who went 3–14 in 2015, have already exceeded that win total just six games into this season.
“It felt really good to win,” back Kiwi Comizio ’18 said after the game. “We’ve already surpassed our record from last year, and I think our play today showed those improvements we’ve made, so I’m really proud of where we are and where I think we’ll be during the rest of the season.”
Yale’s loss to Albany on Saturday — just the Bulldogs’ second defeat of the season — can be seen as a positive result considering the talent of the Great Danes’ squad.
After falling behind 2–0 and being outshot 13–1 in the first half, the Bulldogs held strong on defense in the second frame while scoring a goal to narrow the deficit to one.
“They were all just very skilled,” midfielder Lily Smith ’18 said. “It was a little intimidating … But I feel like we stepped it up a bit.”
Albany captain and midfielder Paula Heuser scored the first goal for the Great Danes off a penalty corner five minutes into the game, and forward Alyssa Curtis doubled the Great Dane lead midway through the first half. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, recorded just one shot in the entire first 35 minutes.
The Bulldogs returned from the halftime break with a renewed sense of purpose. They managed to force a goal into the net two minutes into the second half, with forward Danee Fitzgerald ’17 scoring her second penalty-corner goal in as many games.
The game’s intensity increased following a Yale time-out with just over five minutes to go in the game. The Elis came close to forcing overtime, as Albany goalie Maxi Primus needed to make two saves in the last three minutes of the game. But the Bulldogs were unable to convert, and the score remained 2–1 as the final whistle blew.
“[Albany was] really good, but at the same time, at the end, we were really close to scoring goals, and actually, we could’ve beaten them,” back Holly Jackson ’20 said. “Their second goal in the first half was just off bad marking, I think.”
Following the close loss, the Bulldogs returned home to record a decisive 4–2 victory over Georgetown. All four of Yale’s goals were hammered in the second half of the match, although the Elis did have ample opportunity to score in the first half, with 17 shots and a penalty corner going their way.
Forward Carol Middough ’18, who entered the game with three goals on the season, added to her tally with the Bulldogs’ first goal at 38:09. Her reverse stick swing sent the ball flat into the goal, and there was nothing that Georgetown keeper Rachel Skoneki could do to stop it.
This first goal fired up the Bulldog attack, and Middough echoed the score with another stunning shot just over two minutes later. Forward Allie Carrigan ’19 tacked on a third goal less than a minute later, and it took just three more minutes for forward Fitzgerald to extend the lead to four. A scoreless battle turned into a 4-–0 blowout in less than six minutes.
The Bulldogs maintained possession for much of the match, forcing Hoya goalie Rachel Skoneki to make 13 saves in total, while Eli goalkeeper Emilie Katz ’17 made just one save the entire game.
Play grew more physical in the final 10 minutes of the game while the Hoyas attempted to make a comeback. Georgetown forward Michaela Bruno used her skills to weave through the Bulldog defense and send in a powerful goal with eight minutes remaining. This gave the Hoyas a glimmer of hope, and Yale had to spend the last few minutes of the game on the defensive.
In spite of a concerted effort to keep the Hoyas out the circle, the Bulldogs yielded one more tally by allowing Georgetown to convert a penalty corner into a second goal. In the end, the Bulldogs held on to win 4–2, overpowering the Hoyas with quick passes and fluid play.
Yale begins its Ivy campaign next week, taking on rival Harvard on Friday in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On Sunday, the Bulldogs will return home for a tougher match against No. 19 Stanford at Johnson Field.