Yale Athletics

The No. 17 Yale field hockey team (6–1, 1–1 Ivy) beat Colgate but dropped to Cornell over the weekend, suffering its first defeat of the season.

Last weekend, the Bulldogs opened Ivy play with a road win over Brown. They picked up a 3–1 victory, pushing Yale to 5–0 on the season, its best start since 1995.

However, their momentum was tested on Friday in Ithaca, where the Bulldogs faced Cornell (5–0, 2–0) in the Big Red’s first game at Marsha Dodson Field. In a defensive battle, Yale was held to a season-low 11 shots and ultimately fell 2–0.

The game was scoreless through the first quarter, but Cornell broke through just under two minutes into the second on a penalty corner deflection — the second time all season that Yale conceded a game’s opening goal.

The Bulldogs weathered a barrage of Cornell corners midway through the second quarter, blocking three shots and getting a key save from first-year goalkeeper Amelie Schwarzkopf ’29 to keep the score 1–0 at halftime. But early in the third quarter, Cornell doubled its lead off of a redirected pass.

Yale continued to battle, earning multiple penalty corners late in the fourth quarter, but the Big Red’s defense held firm. Schwarzkopf finished with four saves to match Cornell goalkeeper, while Yale limited Cornell to just 14 shots — a season low for the Big Red.

The loss dropped Yale to 5–1 overall and 1–1 in Ivy play.

The Bulldogs closed their road trip with a resounding response in Hamilton, N.Y., shutting out Colgate (3–6, 0–2 Patriot League) 7–0 at Tyler’s Field on Sunday afternoon.

“We needed a reminder that just because we have the talent and ability to be an amazing team, we still have to prove it every single day,” Hettie Whittington ’27 wrote to the News. “The focus word on Sunday was ‘bounceback,’ and that’s exactly what we did.”

Poppy Beales ’26 opened the scoring at 4:36, tipping in a shot from Ymre Massée ’28. Sophomore midfielder Victoria Collee ’28 doubled the lead less than three minutes later off a feed from Venter, and Massée added a third goal on a penalty corner before the first quarter ended. Collee struck again midway through the third quarter, and the Bulldogs never looked back. Colgate got a look at the cage during a penalty corner, but Whittington was able to get her stick up, earning a defensive save.

Emma Ramsey ’27 added Yale’s fifth goal, slamming home a cross from Tabs Collier ’27, before Whittington converted a penalty stroke. Collee capped off her afternoon with a third tally in the final two minutes, recording a hat trick.

Defensively, Yale was equally dominant. The Bulldogs held Colgate without a shot until the 42nd minute and finished with a 30–4 edge in attempts, including 19–4 on goal. First-year goalkeeper Maddie Shepherd ’29 earned her first career start, making three saves to secure Yale’s first shutout since Oct. 2024.

With the weekend split, Yale improved to 6–1 overall and 1–1 in Ivy play, equaling its best start to a season in nearly three decades. 

On Sept. 20 in Providence, when Yale defeated Brown (1–3, 0–1) 3–1, the Bulldogs took control in the second half and pulled away with goals from Beales, Lauren Venter ’26 and Collee.

“We spent the first half against Brown totally focused on trying to stop their best player, that we lost sight of our own style of play,” Whittington said. “At halftime we decided that what they are doing doesn’t matter, if we play our hockey, we can beat anyone.”

The Bulldogs will host the Princeton Tigers on Friday at Johnson Field.