Yale Athletics

As most Yalies attended their first classes of the semester last week, the women’s soccer (2–1–1, 0–0–0 Ivy) team flew west to face the University of Washington Huskies (4–1–1, 0–0–0 Pac-12) and the Seattle University Redhawks (2–4–0, 0–0–0 WAC). 

After surrendering two second-half goals in a 2–1 defeat against the Huskies, the Bulldogs cruised to a 4–0 victory against the Redhawks, marking their first win away from home since 2019.

“UW was fast, physical, and very good in the air,” Ashley Kirschner ’26 said. “There were a few moments where we shut off as a team and they took advantage, but I think we all want that game back and know we deserve a better result since we play a much better brand of soccer than they do.”

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead against the Huskies, as Kirschner beat the Washington keeper off a slick pass from Nana Yang ’25. The goal came in the 23rd minute and the Bulldogs were able to preserve their 1–0 lead heading into the halftime break.

For Kirschner, the goal was a little extra special, as the Washington native was playing in front of a large contingent of her friends and family.

“It felt very surreal playing in front of all of my people,” Kirschner said. “Our support crowd for Yale was probably bigger than both of the schools we played, which meant the world to have support on the road. My grandparents, parents, cousins, old soccer coaches, high school friends and neighbors were all able to come see me play and I felt very fortunate to be able to return my thanks to them with a goal against UW.”

However, the Huskies began to impose their will on the game in the second half. The home team came out of the locker room with an increased level of aggressiveness, which translated into 11 corner kicks for the game. Many of those kicks took place in the second half.

The Huskies were able to convert two of these corners in the 57th and 71st minutes to take a lead, and the Bulldogs never regained their first-half mojo to mount a comeback.

“That was a tough loss for us,” goalkeeper Marisa Shorrock ’24 said. “Our team played really well together and we would definitely love to get that one back. At the end of the day, we got beaten on set pieces. They had 11 corner kicks in that game and have been very successful in the past. It’s a tough way to lose but we definitely turned it around for our second game of the trip.”

The loss was the Bulldogs’ 18th consecutive loss on the road, with their last victory away from home coming at Penn on Oct. 26, 2019. Last year, the squad was undefeated at home with seven wins and one draw, but lost or drew each game outside of New Haven.

However, the Bulldogs finally broke through in their matchup against Seattle, with an offensive barrage right from the start.

Meredith Phillips ’25 created the first opportunity, dribbling down the left wing before sliding a ball across the box. It trickled past several defenders, before Ellie Rappole ’25 blasted a shot into the bottom right corner to take a 1–0 lead in the ninth minute. 

It seemed like that would be the score heading into the locker room. However, in the final minute of the half, Regan Lundstedt ’26 controlled a cross off her chest, and fired a shot off the left post. Although it caromed back out, first-year forward Addison Bray ’27 collected the rebound and scored her first career goal.

“Scoring my first goal was such an amazing feeling!” Bray said. “I felt a rush of adrenaline come over me and honestly the ball felt like it was moving in slow motion. Celebrating with my teammates after that goal is something I will never forget!”

The Bulldogs were not satisfied with their 2–0 lead, as Yang scored in the 55th minute, and seven minutes later, Rappole notched her second goal of the game to bring the score to 4–0. The Bulldogs maintained the lead for the remainder of the game, and first-year Kyla Holmes ’27 came in to get her first experience in net for the final 11 minutes.

The trip to Seattle also marked a homecoming for Andie Miller ’27. She explained how special it was to start her career so close to home.

“It was surreal to play at the fields just minutes from my house where I watched college teams play while growing up,” Miller said. “It was also super special to be able to have all the people who helped me get to where I am today come to watch me play, including my parents and sister, grandparents, high school friends and teammates, coaches and more!”

The shutout against Seattle also marked the first time this year Yale did not allow a goal. However, it continued a streak of nine consecutive games allowing two goals or less, including five straight shutouts to end last year. 

There are several explanations for this defensive streak, but inserting Shorrock into the starting lineup late last year must rank among them. The senior keeper earned conference defensive player of the week honors last week for her late-game heroics against UMass. 

“[Shorrock] is the best!” Bray said. “She has been killing it in the goal. I have never been more confident with who I have as my last line of defense.”

The Bulldogs continued their winning ways last night with a 2–1 victory against Seton Hall in their return to the Bulldogs’ home turf.