WOMEN’S SOCCER: Yale falls to UMass, prepares to host St. John’s
Yesterday, the Bulldogs lost 1–0 to the University of Massachusetts and now prepare to face St. Johns in a 1 p.m. Sunday game at Reese Stadium.
Lukas Flippo, Photo Editor
The Bulldogs lost 1–0 to the University of Massachusetts Amherst Wednesday afternoon, now shifting their focus to their upcoming Sunday home game against St. John’s.
The Bulldogs (0–7–0, 0–0–0 Ivy) faced the Minutewomen (4–2–2, 0–0–0 Colonial) at Rudd Field in Amherst, Massachusetts, for Yale’s third game away from Reese Stadium this season. The Yale women’s soccer team outshot UMass and had a 10–6 advantage in corners yet were unable to add a tally to their score.
“Another tough result for us, but I do feel the tides turning,” head coach Sarah Martinez said. “We created plenty of opportunities to get a result today but weren’t good enough inside the 18, [but] defensively, we were much better and much more organized which generated energy on the other side of the ball.”
UMass Amherst came into the matchup with a five-game winning streak, starting with their 3–0 win over UMass Lowell on Aug. 26. The Minutewomen followed up their win by defeating Boston University on Aug. 29 and Bryant in an overtime game on Sept. 2, in addition to ties with Merrimack and Northeastern.
The Bulldogs were seeking their first win during the match against the Minutewomen, shooting eight times throughout the game. Despite Yale’s shot lead, UMass forward Karina Groff took the first try at goal of the game in the third minute, which was followed by two corner kicks and another shot by forward Ashley Lamond. In the 14th minute, Lamond assisted forward Chandler Pedolzky in scoring UMass’ first and only goal of the game.
After substitutions of forward Tina Teik ’25 and forward Ellery Winkler ’23 for forward Mia Grillo ’22 and forward Emily Yin ’22, Yale found a corner kick in the 20th minute, which led to shots out top by Teik and out left by forward Alanna Butcher ’25 in the next two minutes.
“Our attack was the strongest it has been this season, and next game we will focus on finishing our chances,” goalkeeper Maya Bellomo ’24 said. “Defensively, we were organized and dictated the opponents’ play well.”
The Bulldogs then had three more corner kicks in the 23rd and 24th minutes, prompting a series of five UMass substitutions. In the 31st minute, midfielder Ellie Rappole ’25 attempted a shot that went out top, and 10 minutes later, midfielder Rebeka Roth ’25, who was subbed in for Rappole, sent the ball to the top right — only to be saved by UMass goalkeeper Megan Olszewski.
After halftime, two offside calls against UMass were followed by a shot in the 54th minute by midfielder Chloe Laureano ’24 out the top right. A corner and shots by UMass were then followed by another Yale corner and attempt for a tally by defender Giana Pittaro ’23. Past the 79th minute, Yale made a series of substitutions, and a corner kick and shot by Winkler closed out the second period.
“What I enjoyed most was our productivity off the bench,” Martinez said. “I felt when we made subs, our play increased which is always our goal when rotating fresh players.”
This Sunday at 1 p.m., Yale is set to face St. John’s (4–1–1, 0–0–0 Big East) at Reese Stadium. In their last matchup, on Aug. 30, 2019, St. John’s defeated Yale 2–1. Their largest margin of victory in their matchup history, however, occurred during the Thunderbirds’ previous 2–0 win in 2016.
While the Bulldogs and the Thunderbirds have not yet had common competitors this season, St. John’s has conquered New Jersey Institute of Technology, Saint Joseph’s University, Lehigh and the University of Delaware, while drawing with Columbia in double overtime and losing to Harvard 3–2 in overtime.
“We turn to a very good side in St. John’s,” Martinez said. “They have one of the most dangerous attacking players in the country with a ton of experience, so she will be a handful. Sunday provides one more opportunity to clean some things up before we head into conference play next week.”
In their most recent game against Delaware, Thunderbird forward Zsani Kajan, who led the Big East and ranked second overall in the nation in scoring, recorded the 10th multi-goal game of her career. The victory marked the 250th career win for head coach Ian Stone.
Although they will face a strong offense in their upcoming matchup, Yale players are optimistic and looking forward to potentially finding their first win before in-conference play begins.
“I am excited for the next game because I truly feel the momentum building within the team,” Bellomo said. “If we continue to push our efforts our moment will come.”
Yale’s Sunday game will be followed by its first matchup in the Ivy conference against Princeton on Sept. 25 in Princeton, New Jersey.
