Yale Athletics

The Yale women’s hockey team faced an intense schedule with four ECAC matchups, coming out with two wins, one tie and one loss. 

The team opened with a 3-1 win against Princeton on Friday, tied Quinnipiac 1-1 on Saturday in the Mandi Schwartz Whiteout Game and closed the beginning of their season with a hard-fought 5-1 loss to Harvard and a 2-1 victory over Dartmouth.

In the Friday night win over Princeton, first-year standout Camryn Bell ’28 led Yale with two goals, opening her collegiate scoring late in the first period and adding a backhanded game-winner in the third. 

Yale’s defense, anchored by goalie Pia Dukaric’s ’25 23 saves, limited Princeton’s opportunities, allowing only one goal in the first period before controlling the game’s pace to secure the 3-1 victory. Anna Bargman ’25 added Yale’s third goal, putting the Bulldogs ahead 2-0 in the ECAC.

“Winning the first game of the season was great!” said Bell. “I was definitely nervous, but the seven of us freshmen are so lucky to have a group of such talented and hardworking players ahead of us. The positivity and excitement from these early wins will carry into the rest of the season and hopefully bring a lot of success.”

The Bulldogs returned Saturday for a 1–1 tie against Quinnipiac, honoring the memory of former player Mandi Schwartz ’10. Naomi Boucher ’26 scored first for Yale, but Quinnipiac tied the game in the second. 

Both teams fought through a scoreless overtime, ending in a 1–1 draw after Quinnipiac edged Yale in a 2-1 shootout. Dukaric stood out with 32 saves, keeping the Bulldogs competitive in a game defined by defensive strength.

“It’s always great to start the year with a few wins and play well as your season begins,” said Assistant Coach Grant Kimball. “But as we told the team, we haven’t accomplished anything. We need to keep working hard, and apply the lessons learned from each game.”

Following the tie, the Bulldogs faced Harvard, who handed them a tough 5-1 loss despite Yale’s dominating first period, in which they outshot the Crimson. Bargman scored for Yale, but three Harvard goals in the final period widened the gap, marking Yale’s first loss of the season.

Yale rebounded with a solid 2-1 win over Dartmouth. Mariya Rauf ’27 and Jordan Ray ’26 each scored to seal the victory, with Dukaric adding 18 saves to keep Yale ahead.

“We want to be a team that is relentless in our pursuit of executing our process at an extremely high level,” Kimball added. “As long as we accomplish that, success will come. We have a long way to go to get there but we’re confident we can with hard work and focused determination.”

The Bulldogs, now 3-1-1, will return home to face Cornell on Nov. 8.