WOMEN’S SOCCER: Yale loses 1–0 to BU, 2–1 against Dartmouth
On Tuesday, the Bulldogs fell 1–0 to the Terriers, which was followed by a 2–1 loss to the Big Green on Saturday.
Courtesy of muscosportsphotos.com
The Yale women’s soccer team lost by a single goal margin in its two most recent matchups, an 1–0 away loss to Boston University on Tuesday afternoon and a 2–1 loss to Dartmouth on Saturday at Reese Stadium.
The Bulldogs (1–11–0, 0–3–0 Ivy) faced the Terriers (8–5–1, 4–1–0 Patriot) at Nickerson Field in Boston for the Terriers’ fourth straight win. Yale was outshot 17–6, but goalkeeper Maya Bellomo ’24 managed to make a total of eight saves and prevent a goal for the first 85 minutes.
“We have improved every week,” head coach Sarah Martinez said. “This group is resilient and works incredibly hard every day [and] we are starting to click better on both sides of the ball.”
BU entered the matchup having won four out of its five past games, starting with a 2–1 win against New Hampshire on Sept. 12, and followed by wins against Lafayette, Navy and Lehigh. Since their game against Yale, the Terriers also defeated American 1–0 on Oct. 9.
The Bulldogs fought for a win, but ultimately fell short in the final five minutes of play. In the first five minutes, Bellomo made her first two saves against shots from BU forward Jenna Oldham — who leads the Terriers with 14 points — and forward Abigail McNulty. The shots were followed by a BU corner and a shot by forward Geovanna Periera that hit the post.
After a Yale corner kick taken by midfielder Chloe Laureano ’24, forward Marli Rajacich and McNulty delivered two attempts on goal for BU in the 14th minute — with the first going wide and Bellomo saving the second. Bellomo saved an attempt by junior Ashley Buck in the 15th minute after another BU corner kick.
Over the next 10 minutes, a series of substitutions were made on both teams, bringing in midfielder Tanner Cahalan ’25, midfielder Rebeka Róth ’25, forward Mia Grillo ’22, and forward Emily Yin ’22. In the 33rd minute, Grillo received a yellow card after a foul was made.
Bellomo made another save in the 35th minute from a ball delivered by forward Amy Thompson, which was followed by three BU substitutions. To close out the half, Grillo made a shot in an attempt to add a Yale tally, but it ultimately went wide and left the first period scoreless.
The second half began with a corner kick by BU midfielder Lily Matthews and a high shot by forward Morgan Fagan in the 48th minute, and another by McNulty that was saved by Bellomo in the 51st. In the 57th minute of play, Roth made a shot on goal that was saved by Terrier goalie Gretchen Bennett.
A shot by BU’s Sophia Woodland was blocked by Yale and was followed by yellow cards given to two Terriers in a span of four minutes — one to midfielder Hugrún Helgadóttir in the 65th and one to midfielder Eileen Soloman in the 69th.
Directly following the yellow card, Laureano made a shot that was blocked by Bennett that granted the team a corner kick. Four BU substitutions were made, followed by a wide shot by forward Ashley Raphael and three more Terrier substitutions. Forward Alanna Butcher ’25 made a wide shot in the 76th minute.
“Everyone put their all into [this game],” BU forward Raphael said to the Daily Free Press. “We were so overwhelmed because it was such a team effort … We can do it all together and keep pushing forward and keep trying to grab wins on Nickerson.”
In a period of four minutes, BU fired five shots, two of which were saved by Bellomo and the final resulting in the winning goal of the game. In the 85th minute, Raphael converted the rebound of Oldham’s errant shot that hit the post. Both Yin and Terrier Raphael took wide shots in the 86th minute, and Oldham was given a yellow card in the following minute. Midfielder Reina Bonta ’22 took a shot in the 88th, which was saved by Bennett, and the game was closed by a corner taken by midfielder Ellie Rappole ’25.
The Elis played the Big Green (5–4–1, 1–2–0 Ivy) at Reese Stadium in Yale’s third Ivy League matchup. Yale made more total shots than Dartmouth, 18–10, but was still edged out in a 2–1 defeat. To open the game, Big Green forwards Dasa Hase and Hannah Curtin took shots — with the first being saved by goalie Marisa Shorrock ’23, who made her first collegiate appearance in the matchup. Forward Tina Teik ’25 made a shot on goal in the seventh minute, which was saved by goalie Emily Hardy.
In the 8th minute, off an assist by Hase, Curtin placed the ball in the left corner of the net. However, 17 seconds later, Yale evened the score when Teik sent a cross to Butcher, who fired 10 feet from the goal line. Teik made a high shot in the ninth minute, and Dartmouth midfielder Maddie Mills made a wide header shot in the 13th. Another save by Shorrock was followed by unsuccessful attempts by Butcher and Winkler and a yellow card delivered to defender Kristen Enriquez ’22 in the 24th minute.
Mills made another header shot, and two minutes later, Teik took one that was saved by Hardy. In the 33rd minute and following, forward Allie Winstanley took two shots, one saved by Shorrock and one blocked. The half was closed with two Bulldog shots, by Butcher and Laureano, which were both blocked.
The Eli defense prevented all shots from the Big Green in the second half until there were eight minutes left in the game. In the first 10 minutes, Teik, Cahalan, midfielder Sarah Jordan ’22 and Butcher took shots, two of which were on target and saved by Hardy. Following that, Teik and Yin made attempts that were also saved. In the 72nd minute, Teik struck again with a high shot, made a header shot in the 80th and shot wide in the 81st.
Dartmouth’s midfielder Grace Rorke took a high shot in the 82nd minute, which was followed by a header shot by Butcher in the 85th. In the final two minutes of play, Curtin received a cross from forward Allie Winstanley and headed the ball past Shorrock to earn Dartmouth’s second and final tally of the game.
Despite their losses to BU and Dartmouth, the Elis remain steadfastly committed to bringing about another win against Ivy opponents.
“I’m bummed to not get a result I felt we deserved against Dartmouth, as we played some of our best soccer of the year,” Martinez said. “Soccer can be cruel, but I love the resiliency and grit from our players each and every day.”
Yale’s next game will be against Cornell on Oct. 16 at Reese Stadium.
