FIELD HOCKEY: Bulldogs take home two victories over a five-day stretch
The Blue and White seize a win in their matches against Sacred Heart and Hofstra but fall to Penn.
Courtesy of Sam Rubin '95
In a span of five days, the Yale field hockey team (7–8, 2–3 Ivy) clashed with three different opponents. Last week, the Bulldogs secured a victory over Sacred Heart (2–14, 2–4 NEC) before falling to Penn (6–7, 3–2 Ivy) and stunning Hofstra (7–10, 1–4 CAA).
Less than a week after defeating Columbia, the Blue and White jumped back into action and entered their busiest stretch of the season with a home contest against Sacred Heart. On Wednesday, a strong final frame lifted Yale to a 4–2 win over Sacred Heart. After a two-day break, the Bulldogs traveled to Philadelphia where they fell 3–1 to the Quakers after Penn’s Meghan Ward netted a pair of goals. The Elis quickly returned home to face off against Hofstra on Sunday. While the Pride struck first, the Bulldogs commanded the remainder of the match and took home a 6–1 victory.
“Right now the team’s focusing on our strengths and what we have been doing really well throughout the season.” Laine Garber ’23 wrote to the News ahead of Wednesday’s game.
The first period of the evening match against Sacred Heart featured a dominant offensive start for the Bulldogs. Within six minutes after the opening whistle, the Blue and White peppered the Pioneers’ net with seven shots on goal. A penalty corner for Yale four minutes into the second frame allowed midfielder Théodora Dillman ’23 to notch the game’s first goal. The Bulldogs fired off three more shots before closing out the period with a blast into the net from forward Lena Ansari ’24.
In the third period, Yale took its foot off the pedal and allowed Sacred Heart to pull within one. A second goal for the Pioneers came off the stick of forward Ally Frampton and even up the score at 2–2. Despite Sacred Heart’s late rally, a pair of unanswered goals from forward Lily Ramsey ’25 and forward and midfielder Ashley Kim ’24 punched the Bulldogs to a 4–2 victory.
In contrast to their flying start against Sacred Heart, the Elis were unable to find their rhythm early in their matchup with Penn on Saturday. While they had outshot the Pioneers by a total of 24–11 in their previous game, the Bulldogs were held shotless in the opening period by the Quakers who jumped on the scoreboard first with back-to-back goals.
A quiet second and third quarter sent the match into the final frame with Penn on top. After holding the Quakers to only three shots after the first period, leading goal scorer Ansari knocked in Kim’s pass from the outside circle. Yale’s last-minute push was ultimately spoiled by the final goal from Penn midfielder Ward.
“We played three really good quarters,” Yale field hockey head coach Pam Stuper told the Athletic Department. “There were a couple of things tactically that we needed to change, and we did. After we scored it felt like we were going to score again, but ultimately we did not take advantage of enough of our opportunities.”
Following a quick regroup, the Bulldogs returned to home Johnson Field to face off against Hofstra in a matinee match. Twenty-one minutes into the contest, Yale starting goaltender Luanna Summer ’24 had faced and stopped two shots on goal. On Hofstra’s fourth shot attempt, Lieke Gorsse netted a goal for the Pride and opened the scoring.
Despite giving up the first goal, Yale’s explosive offense took complete control of the game soon after. Second-period penalty corner goals from Dillman and back Keely Comizio ’25 were followed by second-half tallies by forward Ellie Barlow ’25 and Ansari. Goals from Kim and forward and midfielder Kelly Dolan ’22 rounded out the scoring and capped off the Bulldog’s dominant 6–1 win.
With two games left, the Blue and White now look to close out their season by improving their conference record from 2–3. The final pair of matches will pit Yale against Ivy League competitors Dartmouth (4–10, 0–5) and Cornell (8–6, 3–2). According to senior midfielder Iliana Cabral ’22, the team’s morale remains high as the year winds down.
“We have a cohesive group this year and are ready to finish strong in the next two games,” Cabral said. “Our game against Hofstra showed how strong we work as a unit.”
The Yale field hockey team is set to face off against Dartmouth at home this Saturday at 1 p.m.