Yale Athletics

On Wednesday night, the Yale women’s soccer team (7–4–1, 1–1–1 Ivy) lost their second conference game in a row to Brown (5–3–3, 2–1 Ivy) at Stevenson-Pincince Field in Providence, Rhode Island.

This is the third game in a row the Bulldogs have dropped to the Bears, but the first of the three that occurred in Providence. 

Head Coach Sarah Martinez wrote to the News that she wanted her team to be in control.

“For our group, we went into the game wanting to combat their press with our composure but be on the front foot from the beginning of the game,” Martinez wrote.

The first half moved too quickly for the Bulldogs’ defense, with Brown putting their foot on the gas from the start of the game. Taking advantage of their third corner kick of the game at 14:03, the Bears’ offense put immense pressure on goalkeeper Kyla Holmes ’27. She managed one save until six minutes later, when the first goal of the game scored on a kick by Brown forward Ayla Sahin.  

Not long after, a chip shot by Nadja Meite over the head of Holmes sunk the Bulldogs to a 0-2 deficit within 20 minutes of the game’s beginning.

Martinez wrote that her team fell behind early because they “allowed Brown to be the aggressor.”

Off to a difficult start, Martinez made some quick substitutions. Only two players for Yale played the full 90 minutes, Tanner Cahalan ’25 and Logan Jacobs ’26. Even Holmes was substituted after the half, allowing Anna Shamgochian ’28 her first debut in Ivy League play.

Martinez felt her team played better in the second half.

“I felt we were on the front foot,” she wrote. “Matching their physicality, [finding] our spacing, and [creating] some quality chances. If we scored one of those chances, I think the game could have really shifted in our favor.”

In the second half, the Bulldogs came out with more fire. Where in the first 45 minutes the offense had only one shot, the team managed six in the second. 

At 51:31 in the game, Yale had their biggest opportunity to cut into Brown’s lead. Vienna Lundstedt ’28 had two shots back-to-back, followed by an attempt by Ashley Kirschner ’26. All three forced the Bears’ goalie to make three saves within a minute, but not a single one successfully managed to greet the netting of the goal.

Despite other opportunities to score, the Bulldogs dropped the match to Brown, 0-2. 

The team turns their attention to Princeton University (8–3, 3–0 Ivy), who are undefeated in Ivy League play. The Tigers are hot off a 1-0 victory against The University of Pennsylvania (1–7–4, 0–2–1 Ivy).

“For Princeton, we need to have a full 90 minute performance,” Martinez wrote. “I think we’ve seen that, in many games we’ve played, when we show up at our best, we are a very good team. Our league is so wide open but we continue to focus on one game at a time. We are excited to play a very good Princeton team, and I believe our group will be ready for a great performance.”

The Bulldogs square up against the Tigers on Sunday, Oct. 13 at 1 p.m. at Reese Stadium in New Haven.