Yale Athletics

The Yale field hockey team faced off against the Sacred Heart Pioneers on Friday, Sept. 20, on their home turf. The non-conference game was a decisive victory with two Bulldogs scoring their first career goals. 

The Pioneers scored first, with a shot finding the net just past the three minute mark. However, the Elis were undeterred, hitting back with a goal off a penalty corner from Ellie Barlow ’25 less than five minutes later. 

Barlow continued to gain momentum and hammered home another goal 15 minutes later, also from a penalty corner, giving the Bulldogs a 2–1 lead. This was the first time in Barlow’s career where she scored two goals in a single game.

Sophomore Emma Ramsey ’27 put points on the board for the first time in her Yale career with an assist from Lauren Venter ’26. Ramsey was done scoring for the game but assisted on two additional goals from first year Victoria Collee ’28. Those two shots were Collee’s first career goals, making the game personally monumental for multiple players. With Collee’s point added to the total, the Bulldogs had a commanding 5–1 lead with ten minutes left on the clock. 

The Pioneers were unable to answer, and as time ran out, the Bulldogs stayed on top.

The Bulldogs then headed to Storrs, Conn. to face their in-state rival No. 14 UConn, the alma mater of Head Coach Melissa Gonzalez.

The game began with an aggressive tear on the Yale front, striking seven times and forcing the Huskies’ goalkeeper Natalie McKenna to make five saves within the first ten minutes. Despite outnumbering UConn with shots taken on goal, the Huskies were nevertheless able to put up the first point of the game at 12:14 in the first period. 

As the second period rolled around, Yale’s opportunities to inch toward the goal dwindled. Only one Bulldog, Chiara Picciafuoco ’28, took a shot in the entire second period. Meanwhile, the Huskies, who had five shots within the fifteen minute period, were able to capitalize on this advantage. At 28:04 in the game, a goal by Madi Herb just snuck by Eli goalkeeper Alexa Pitts ’25, sending the Bulldogs down 2–0 going into the third period.

Quickly, Yale needed to reduce the deficit. With assists from Picciafuoco and Venter, Poppy Beales ’26 sent her third goal of the season into the net, cutting the lead in half, 2–1. This did not come without retaliation from the Huskies. About two minutes later, UConn struck again, sending the game into the final quarter with a score of 3–1. 

At the start of the fourth quarter, a penalty corner from Barlow and a pass from captain Keely Comizio ’25 to Hettie Whittington ’27 led to the Bulldogs’ second goal of the game. This was Whittington’s third goal of the season. Trailing by just one goal, the Elis continued to seek their biggest potential win of the season. As the time dwindled, however, the Huskies’ defense tightened up, clinging onto victory.

The game ended with UConn just pulling away with the win, 3–2.

When asked about the loss, Venter told the News, “It was a tough game, but it was some of the best hockey we’ve ever played,” she said. “Despite losing, team morale has never been higher, and we are so excited to get into Ivy League play.”

Despite the defeat, the Bulldogs’ efforts led to their newly updated NCAA ranking, slotting them at No. 22. The Bulldogs were previously unranked. UConn, on the other hand, moved to No. 7.

The Bulldogs return home to Johnson Field for their first in-conference game of the season against Penn on Friday, Sept. 27, at 4 p.m.