Courtesy of Sam Rubin '95

In its final fixture of the year, Yale (9–8, 4–3 Ivy) carried its recent momentum into a 2–1 victory over Cornell (7–9, 3–4). The Senior Day victory secured winning in-conference and overall records and marked the fifth win for the Blue and White in their final six games of the season.

Cornell’s offense took an early lead with a goal by Caroline Ramsey, the team’s leading goalscorer. Ramsey found the bottom of the cage off a penalty corner taken by Kate MacGillis, putting the Big Red on top.

The Bulldogs fought back throughout the remainder of the first half, but were unable to convert across their nine shots. Despite leading on shots, the scoreboard saw Yale trailing 1–0 into halftime.

Cornell’s lead wouldn’t last much longer, with Yale dominating early in the third quarter. A pair of penalty corners allowed Imogen Davies ’22 to put two shots into the cage, taking a 2–1 lead the Bulldogs would hold onto for the rest of the game.

“[Davies] had one of her best games ever,” head coach Pam Stuper told Yale Athletics after the game. “She made sure we won. She played great on both sides of the ball, and she finished.”

Davies was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week for her performance against Cornell.

When asked about how the Bulldogs turned around the momentum to create opportunities in the second half, Davies emphasized that converting their momentum into scoring made the difference in the game.

“I think the momentum had been with us since the first quarter,” Davies wrote in an email to the News. “In the second half, we knew we just needed to find a way to turn that momentum and domination into a result and the team did a great job to generate shots and those ultimately-successful corners!”

Davies’ two goals were not the only factor in Yale’s second-half come-from-behind victory. Yale’s defense had to stop Cornell’s dangerous attack.

According to Sarah King ’22, the team specifically focused on limiting Cornell’s penalty corners.

“We really focused on identifying Cornell’s offensive threats and catered our practices during the week to shutting down those threats,” King wrote of their preparations. “We knew they had a dangerous offensive penalty corner unit so we worked on reducing the number of fouls in the circle to limit those.”

Yale’s disciplined play style was reflected in the scoreline, with the Bulldogs conceding only three penalty corners to Cornell’s eight. With all three goals in the match coming off penalty corners, it was clear that Yale’s strategy paid off.

Of course, the emotions of the Senior Day matchup were not lost on the Blue and White. For five of the players, the match against Cornell would be their last in a Yale uniform.

“It meant the world to our team, especially us seniors, to win our last game this season,” Iliana Cabral ’22 wrote. “It is worth noting that our team culture is at the best it has ever been…This team has given me the opportunity to meet some of my best friends.”

With four seniors — Davies, King, Cabral and Kelly Dolan ’22 — and one graduate student — Anissa Abboud SPH ’23 — departing the team, the field hockey roster will look a little different next year.

Still, this year’s team is confident they’ve laid the groundwork for success in future seasons.

“I think this year’s team has laid incredibly strong foundations for the future success of the program and hopefully an Ivy League title next year!” Davies wrote. “I can’t wait to follow these girls’ future successes.”

Saturday’s win marked the Bulldogs’ first regulation win against the Big Red since 2013.