WOMEN’S SOCCER: Bulldogs to face No. 10 Harvard on Saturday
After falling to Princeton in its first Ivy game of the season, the Yale women’s soccer team will play Harvard in an alumni game at home this Saturday.
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After falling 4–0 to Princeton (8–1–1, 1–0–0 Ivy) Saturday, Yale (1–8–0, 0–1–0 Ivy) is ready for its next Ivy League matchup against No. 10 Harvard (7–0–1, 1–0–0 Ivy) in an alumni game at Reese Stadium this Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.
“As I’ve said each week, our schedule just continues to get harder,” head coach Sarah Martinez said. “We have a tough task ahead of us hosting undefeated top 10-ranked Harvard this weekend.”
Since 2008, Harvard has dominated the rivalry with 10 wins to Yale’s one, in addition to a tie shared between the teams. In their last matchup in 2019, the Crimson beat the Blue and White 1–0 in a close game, where midfielder Gabby DelPico scored the only goal in the 65th minute.
Following the win that broke the Bulldogs’ five-game-winning streak, Harvard finished second in the Ivy League with five wins, a loss and a tie for their Ivy record, while Yale placed third with four wins, two losses and a tie with No. 1 Brown.
In their 2019 matchup, forward Lydia Shaw ’22 took five shots and forward Ellery Winkler ’23 took three, both with two on goal. In the past three games this season against UMass Amherst (7–2–3 Atlantic), Saint John’s (6–2–1 Big East) and Princeton, Winkler has taken four total shots — with three coming in a single game against Colgate on Sept. 5.
“Princeton was a tough team with a lot of talented players,” forward Tina Teik ’25 said. “We are super excited for Harvard-Yale and [to] welcome our alumni into Reese.”
The Crimson ranks first in the Ivy League women’s soccer standings due to their undefeated record this season. They also are No. 4 in NCAA RPI Rankings and have climbed to No. 10 on Top Drawer Soccer national rankings as of Sept. 27.
Harvard, which also appeared in No. 20 on the United Soccer Coaches poll, will play its first away Ivy game this weekend. In their most recent game, which was against Penn on Jordan Field, Harvard led 3–0, with first-year midfielder Hannah Bebar scoring a pair of goals and forward Angela Caloia sinking another in the net.
Bebar earned Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Sept. 2 and is now second in shots on goal per game and 13th in shots per game in national NCAA rankings. She leads the Ivy conference in shots on goal and per game. Caloia also leads the team and the Ivy League in goals and points in the season.
Harvard has won seven games this season — against Fairfield, Boston University, St. John’s, Monmouth, Northeastern, the University of Kansas and Penn — with no losses and tying once to Boston College in double overtime.
Yale only shares one opponent with Harvard — St. John’s — who the Bulldogs defeated in a 2–0 victory. During the Sept. 19 game, forward Mia Grillo ’22 and forward Alanna Butcher ’25 were both able to score, and the Elis outshot the Thunderbirds 10–6. Goalkeeper Annie Welch ’25 also made three saves that day.
“With our young group we continue to focus on getting better each day,” Martinez said. “I think you’ve seen that progression in our games.”
Despite Harvard’s undefeated record, the Elis are ready for Saturday’s game and Alumni Day, hoping to reset after Princeton and dive competitively into Ivy competition.
The Bulldogs’ following match will be against Boston University at Nickerson Field in Boston, Massachusetts, next Tuesday.