Tag Archive: Field Hockey

  1. FIELD HOCKEY | A must-win for Bulldogs vs. Cornell

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    While the women’s field hockey team would undoubtedly rather have beaten Princeton than not, the voters in this week’s NFHCA/Kookaburra Division I National Coaches’ Poll don’t seem too bothered by last weekend’s loss at the hands of the Tigers, giving the Bulldogs votes in the national poll for the first time this season.

    Bolstered by this national recognition, Yale (5–3, 1–1 Ivy) heads to Ithaca for a showdown with Cornell’s Big Red (5–2, 2–0) — a team just one point behind the Elis in the national poll, and, besides No. 4 Princeton, the lone unbeaten team left in the Ivy League.

    Because Yale could not pull off the upset on the dominating Tigers last weekend, the Elis currently sit at 1–1 in Ivy League play. And they must be perfect — and hope the Tigers are not — in order to have a chance at the league title.

    Beyond that, each game is increasingly crucial for the Bulldogs now as they try to build a strong resume for this year’s NCAA tournament. Helping their cause is the fact that Yale is coming off a 4–2 win over Hofstra, a team that also has votes in the national poll, and the Bulldogs have many games remaining against teams under consideration for national top-25 poll.

    If the Bulldogs are to take down Cornell and head into a tough midweek showdown with No. 5 UConn, they will need big-time performances from freshmen Erica Borgo ’14 (3 goals, 4 assists) and Georgia Holland ’14 (2 goals, 5 assists), both of whom have received Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors at points this season. Mia Rosati ’12 (3 goals, 5 assists) and Taylor Sankovich ’12 (5 goals) will have to continue their hot play, and Maddy Sharp ’13 (3 goals) will need to continue her strong play up front for Yale.

    “Losing to Princeton 7–0 was initially a big blow to the team, but the way we stepped on the field against Hofstra represented a pivotal point in our season and allowed our team to learn from our previous mistakes and maintain composure against a non-league opponent,” Sharp said of last weekend. “For the rest of the season, we will focus on each game as it comes, regardless of whether we are playing an Ivy or non-league opponent. We still haven’t ruled out the chances of becoming Ivy champs.”

    The Bulldogs will continue their quest to move up the national polls — and the Ivy League standings — Saturday at noon.

  2. FIELD HOCKEY | Bulldogs bounce back from loss to Princeton with win over Hofstra

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    Another weekend, another split for the Yale field hockey team.

    For the third straight weekend, the Bulldogs (5–3, 1–1 Ivy) dropped a tough loss — this weekend’s coming against No. 4 Princeton — but they also earned a 4–2 victory over Hofstra.

    The 7–0 loss to Princeton on Saturday was Yale’s first in conference play, following the team’s win over Harvard last weekend in the Ivy League opener. The Tigers have now played two Ivy League games, winning by a combined score of 16–1.

    Princeton boasts two-time conference player of the year Katie Reinprecht, as well as the Ivy League’s leading scorer, Kathleen Sharkey, who victimized the Bulldogs for three goals Saturday. Sharkey currently has 34 points in six games this season — more than twice the point total of the Ivy League’s next most prolific scorer, Kelly Hood of Dartmouth. Reinprecht’s younger sister, Julia, a sophomore, also provided one of Princeton’s tallies in Saturday’s contest.

    The Tigers and Bulldogs were scoreless through the first 11 minutes of Alumni Day at Johnson Field, but a goal from Sharkey sparked Princeton’s scoring attack — the most efficient in the nation — to four goals before the half.

    Freshman Emily Cain ’14 replaced captain Katie Bolling ’11 as Yale’s goalkeeper after halftime, and held the dominant Tigers scoreless through 20 minutes. But Sharkey struck again with just more than 12 minutes left to play in the game, initiating another scoring run for Princeton, this time good for three goals in six minutes.

    When all was said and done, Cain had 10 saves, but her play was one of few bright spots for Yale on a day that was all about the Tigers.

    “As a team, I think we felt a little defeated after the Princeton loss,” forward Erica Borgo ’14 said. “Not just because of the loss in general, but because of the score at the end of the game. We went into it as prepared as we could’ve been.”

    But Yale came out firing against Hofstra on Sunday.

    Less than three minutes in, forward Chelsey Locarno ’12 deposited a feed from midfielder Georgia Holland ’14 into the Dutchwomens’ net to put the Bulldogs ahead. Just 10 minutes later, however, Hofstra tied things up on a goal from Diane Caldwell.

    Forward Johna Paolino ’11 then put Yale back on top, giving the Elis a 2–1 lead by converting a feed from forward Mia Rosati ’12.

    “I don’t think it was hard for us to bounce back because after stepping back and looking at Princeton after the game,” Borgo said.. “We were able to learn from what worked and what didn’t, especially against a top-five team in the nation.”

    Cain replaced Bolling coming out of halftime and conceded the game-tying goal on a penalty stroke to the Dutchwomen’s Arielle Williams, who took her shot before Cain could fully set up between the pipes to score the equalizer.

    The score remained tied until 46:56, when a penalty corner shot from back Taylor Sankovich ’12 found its way to the stick of Rosati, who set up fellow back Erin Carter ’12 for the go-ahead goal. Rosati herself then got in on the scoring action less than 10 minutes later, adding her third goal and team-leading 11th point of the season to solidify the win.

    “Today we went out with a more offensive mindset,” Holland said. “We had some great passing sequences to get into the circle and create scoring opportunities. Yesterday we knew we’d have to play great defense, but today we just wanted to get out there and win.”

    The team now heads into a difficult stretch of its schedule with a trip to Cornell on Saturday, followed by a midweek date with No. 5 UConn and then a trip to No. 12 Boston College before heading to Dartmouth to resume the heart of the Bulldogs’ Ivy League schedule in mid-October.

    “After [Princeton], we knew we needed to put that game behind us … We decided we are going to keep taking it to every other team whether it’s an Ivy League team or not,” Rosati said. “We are going to just keep proving we should be a top team in the country.”

    The Bulldogs play at Ithaca next Saturday at 12 p.m.

  3. F. HOCKEY | Virtual must-win for Bulldogs

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    The field hockey team has had Saturday’s game against Princeton circled on its calendar since the final minutes of last year’s 5–2 loss to the Tigers.

    The lone blemish on an otherwise perfect Ivy League conference season last year, the loss to Princeton paved the way for the Tigers to secure an undefeated season and ended the Bulldogs’ hopes for an Ivy League title.

    This year, No. 4 Princeton (5–0, 1–0) is tearing through its schedule yet again, having crushed Dartmouth — a team that has received votes in the NFHCA/Kookaburra Division I National Coaches’ Poll multiple times this season. Statistically, the Tigers are the most prolific team in the nation — they are the only squad in the country to average over five goals per game.

    Freshman Michelle Cesan took Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors this week (an award monopolized by Yale’s Erica Borgo ’14 and Georgia Holland ‘14 earlier this season), and Kathleen Sharkey has been dominant — she leads the nation both in goals and points per game.

    Having finished second to Princeton last season, however, Yale (4–2, 1–0 Ivy) may be the league’s best hope at preventing the Tigers from running away with the title again. If the Bulldogs are going to do it, all Yale’s weapons will have to be firing on all cylinders.

    Borgo (3 goals, 4 assists) and Holland (2 goals, 3 assists) have already combined for 17 points already this season, and midfielder Dinah Landshut ’12 (eight assists in six games) is making a run at the single season assist record set just last season by Katie Cantore ’10 (16 in 17 games). Mia Rosati ’12 (seven points) and Taylor Sankovich ’12 (tied with Borgo for the team lead with 10 points) have also had strong offensive seasons so far, and Marissa Waldemore ’11 and Erin Carter ’12 have been threats out of the backfield. Maddy Sharp ’13 (six points) and Mary Beth Barham ’13 (five points) have also made offensive contributions.

    That widespread scoring attack will need to be at its best Saturday. With a loss, the Bulldogs no longer control their destiny in the race for the Ancient Eight title but with a win, Yale would break things in the Ivy League wide open.

    The battle gets underway at 12 p.m. at Johnson Field.

  4. F. HOCKEY | Late goal gets it done in 1-0 win

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    While they may not have been the most talked-about late-game winner for Yale athletics this weekend, the field hockey team certainly won as dramatically as anyone Saturday.

    A goal from Mia Rosati ’13 in the final four minutes gave the Bulldogs a 1–0 win over archrival Harvard in Cambridge — the seventh straight time the two have played a contest decided by just one goal.

    “Playing Harvard is always a battle because of the rivalry, but we were very prepared from an intense week of practice.” Chelsey Locarno ’12 said. “After the tough loss on Sunday [3–2 OT loss to No. 20 UMass], we were especially eager to make a statement in our first league game.

    And they did. Despite what the final score might indicate, the Bulldogs dominated their Ancient Eight rivals throughout the game, outshooting the Crimson 17-5 and receiving nine penalty corners to Harvard’s three. Cynthia Tassopolous’s six saves and strong play between the pipes held her team in the game through the first 66 minutes of play, but she couldn’t hold out against the Bulldog onslaught down the stretch, and Rosati deflected a shot from reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Week Georgia Holland ’14 past her for the clincher.

    The win got the Bulldogs’ conference season off to a winning start — a crucial fact considering last year’s champion, Princeton, went undefeated in their championship run.

    Riding high from Rosati’s late game heroics, Yale returned home for a matchup with the University of Maine (6–2) on Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs came out firing, as Locarno tipped a shot from midfielder Dinah Landshut ’12 past Maine goalie Brittany Fleck for the goal on the third of Yale’s five first-half penalty corners.

    Just three minutes into the second half, however, the Black Bears’ leading scorer Kelly Newton tied things up, pushing a shot past captain Katie Bolling ’11, who finished the game with 14 saves, one short of her career high of 15.

    Landshut and Rosati combined to set up classmate Taylor Sankovich ’12 off a penalty corner at 57:08 to reclaim the lead for the Bulldogs; the goal was Sankovich’s fifth of the season.

    But after that goal, Yale became increasingly frustrated with several questionable calls — including one that would lead to the eventual game-tying goal for Maine. After a ball was shot into Locarno’s chest — a play that would normally result in a whistle — play was allowed to continue, and Newton capitalized, tying things up just three minutes after Sankovich’s tally.

    The frustration continued for the Bulldogs as they headed to overtime, and just 5:41 into the extra period Maine’s Jocelyn Mitchell caught the Eli defense napping and sent a point-blank, dead-angle shot past Bolling for the game-winner.

    “We always talk about how there are several things we can’t control in a game — the refs, the weather — we could’ve improved today by focusing more on the aspects of the game we can control, rather than the refs,” Kirsten Krebs ’12, who had a few breakaway chances stymied by late Black Bear challenges. “Princeton [Yale’s next opponent] has been on our minds the entire season … if anything, these two overtime losses have prepared us to take on Princeton because we know we can play with some of the best teams in the country.”

    Krebs and the Elis will have to file this game away quickly, because Saturday’s matchup with the No. 4 Tigers looms as the biggest game on their 2010 schedule. Princeton, a perennial top-five team, is also 1-0 in conference play; that one win was a 9–1 drubbing of Dartmouth, a team that received votes in multiple national polls last season.

    Yale’s only loss in Ivy League play last season came against the Tigers, and, while several conference games follow Saturday’s contest, a win would not only be a tremendous upset, but put the Bulldogs’ destiny in their own hands as they pursue an Ivy League Championship.

    “Today’s loss won’t stand in our way of achieving our goal of beating Princeton,” Krebs said. “I think we will use what we have learned from our losses, in combination with our hard work and spirit, to play Princeton like we’ve never played them before.

    The showdown between the two top powers in the Ivy League begins Saturday at noon at Johnson Field.

  5. F. HOCKEY| Yale looks to rebound vs. Crimson

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    After a heart-breaking overtime loss to No. 20 UMass Sunday, the field hockey team will have an opportunity to take out its frustration on rival Harvard when the Bulldogs (3–1) travel to Cambridge Saturday. The Elis then return home to Johnson Field for a non-conference matchup with Maine Sunday afternoon.

    Sunday’s showdown with the Minutewomen saw Yale take a 2–0 lead, only to see it slip away in the second half — a second half that saw UMass benefit from eight corners in a five-minute span, of which they converted two. After a solid defensive effort to start the extra period, the Bulldog backfield finally broke down, relinquishing the winning goal 12 minutes into overtime.

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    Harvard is coming off a tough loss of its own, having dropped a double-overtime thriller against the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vt., on Sunday. The Crimson also lost to Maine — the Bulldogs’ Sunday opponent — 2–1 the previous day. Harvard is 2–2 on the season, and led in scoring by forward Chloe Keating, who has four goals and three assists so far this season.

    Maine comes into the weekend 4–2 on the season, and received votes in last week’s national poll. Kelly Newton’s five goals and three assists have set the pace so far for the Black Bears, who take on Bryant Friday night.

    The Bulldogs are led into this weekend by the play of two freshmen, Erica Borgo ’14 and Georgia Holland ’14, last week and this week’s Ivy League Rookies of the Week, respectively. Borgo had eight points in her first collegiate weekend against Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac, and Holland had five points last weekend to keep the award in New Haven.

    Borgo, Holland and the rest of the Bulldogs will get their chance to avenge Sunday’s lost and beat up on a bitter rival when they travel to Cambridge Saturday for a contest that begins at 2 p.m. Yale faces Maine at home the following day at that same time.

  6. F. HOCKEY | Elis drop OT heartbreaker to UMass after 6–0 win over Colgate

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    After a decisive 6–0 win over Colgate on Saturday, the field hockey team’s three-game winning streak to start the season came to a heartbreaking halt in Yale’s 3–2 overtime loss to UMass the following day.

    Still, the Bulldogs (3–1) are taking consolation in the fact that they put themselves in a strong position to defeat a perennial NCAA tournament team in the Minutewomen.

    “We learned we can play with the top teams in the country,” head coach Pam Stuper said of the loss to UMass. “Now we just have to do it.”

    The Minutewomen, who received votes in last week’s NFHCA/Kookaburra Division I National Coaches’ Poll, arrived at Johnson Field fresh off a 1–0 upset of No. 4 UConn on Saturday in Amherst, Mass. But it was Yale that looked like the national power at the start, as Maddy Sharp ’13 gave the Bulldogs a 1–0 lead with a goal set up by a drive and feed from Georgia Holland ’14 late in the first half.

    Five minutes into the second half, that lead grew to two, as forward Mary Beth Barham ’13 deflected a ball off the stick of fellow forward Mia Rosati ’12, and into the UMass net.

    Then the penalty corners started piling up, as the Minutewomen were awarded five penalty corners in a span of just eight minutes.

    With 15:09 left in the game, the Yale defense faltered on the Elis’ sixth attempt to stave off the Minutewomens’ penalty corner offense, yielding a goal to Katie Kelly that cut the Yale lead in half.

    Senior back Marissa Waldemore ’11 made a diving tackle to prevent UMass from converting its seventh corner of the half. But the onslaught continued to wear down the Yale defense, and Katie Bowman pulled the Minutewomen even with a goal on the team’s ninth corner since halftime.

    Captain and goaltender Katie Bolling ’11, back Erin Carter ’12 and Waldemore all had strong defensive performances, following up their strong penalty corner defense in the second half with aggressive, shut-down defense as the game went to sudden-death overtime. Bolling turned away several point-blank shots in the extra period, while Carter, the lone Yalie back in the seven-on-seven overtime formation, helped to stop potential breakaways with her incessant pressure on UMass’ offensive players.

    Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, however, UMass’ Katie Kelly broke through the Yale defense with 2:53 to go in overtime and cashed in her second goal of the game to give the Minutewomen the victory.

    It was the goals they scored — and those their opponents didn’t — that told the story Saturday against Colgate.

    Bolling kept a clean sheet for the Bulldogs, and Holland did her best to ensure that Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors would stay in the Yale family, scoring two goals to go with her assist Sunday (Forward Erica Borgo ’14, who also contributed to the scoring against the Raiders, earned the honor last week). Back Taylor Sankovich ’12 turned in her second two-goal game in four games as Yale cruised to its third win of the year.

    “We learned from that game that we are capable of playing up to the level of top-20 teams — if not better than them,” Bolling said of the overtime loss to UMass. “This is a promising sign for our chances against our other top competition in the coming weeks.”

    The first of that competition will be Harvard, as the Bulldogs travel to Cambridge on Saturday. That game will be followed by a home contest against Maine’s Black Bears, who defeated the Bulldogs in Orono last season.

  7. FIELD HOCKEY | Elis set for last games before league play

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    Although the field hockey team opened its 2010 campaign with wins against in-state rivals Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac last weekend, the Elis will face two tough opponents in their last games before Ivy League play begins next week.

    The Bulldogs play the Patriot League’s Colgate on Saturday and perennial field hockey power UMass on Sunday.

    Last weekend, the Elis proved they could win physical games — suffering 24 penalties committed by their two opponents. Colgate and UMass will also be tough competition for the Bulldogs.

    The Bulldogs won a tight 1–0 battle against Colgate’s Red Raiders last season on a neutral field in Orono, Maine, while dropping a heartbreaking 1–0 decision to the UMass Minutewomen in a game the Elis mostly dominated.

    Goalie Alesha Widdall was the story of that game, as the Massachusetts netminder made 15 saves to hold her team in the game and keep the Bulldogs off the scoreboard. She will be back between the pipes again Sunday, when her team makes the trip to Johnson Field.

    UMass will visit Yale following a Saturday game against the No. 4 UConn Huskies in Storrs, Conn. UMass enters that game with a 1–3 record, having dropped two of its three games to teams in the nation’s top 20: No. 7 Boston College and No. 15 Boston University.

    The Minutewomen themselves received 13 votes in last week’s Kookaburra/NFHCA Division I National Coaches’ Poll, though it is still possible that they will take the field Sunday in New Haven with an 1–4 record.

    Yale hopes the new additions to its team will help the Bulldogs to reverse last year’s outcome. Breakout freshman Erica Borgo ’14, last week’s Ivy League Rookie of the Week, scored three goals in Yale’s first two games and has already established herself as the team’s primary inserter on the always-crucial corner. Classmates Georgia Holland ’14 and Emily Schuckert ’14 also had strong opening-weekend performances — performances they will need to duplicate this weekend if the Bulldogs hope to continue their winning ways and make a statement heading into Ivy League play.

    Also important to those efforts will be the continued strong play of center midfielder Dinah Landshut ’12, who tallied three assists in last weekend’s games. Back Taylor Sankovich ’12 also started on a hot streak, scoring two goals against Sacred Heart.

    Sunday’s matchup against UMass represents the final tune-up for the Bulldogs before the start of Ivy League play, as their conference opener against Harvard looms on Sept. 18.

    The second weekend of play opens at noon on Saturday, as the Red Raiders come to New Haven. That game will be followed by a Sunday showdown with UMass at noon on Johnson Field.

  8. F. HOCKEY | Bulldogs begin season 2–0

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    After cruising to a convincing 5–0 win over Sacred Heart in its season opener Friday night, the Yale women’s field hockey team earned a hard-fought 4–3 victory over local rival Quinnipiac to cap off the weekend Sunday afternoon at Johnson Field.

    “We are definitely happy that we started out 2–0, but we could have played better hockey,” captain Katie Bolling ’11 said. “[Sunday] was an aggressive game, but we need to make games ours and not let our opponents control the tone.”

    Forward Erica Borgos ’14 set the tone for the Bulldogs on Friday night, scoring two goals in her Yale debut. Junior Taylor Sankovich ’12 added two goals of her own to the Bulldog effort. Bolling posted an opening-day shutout as Yale started out its 2010 season by blanking Sacred Heart.

    Sunday’s contest against Quinnipiac proved much more trying for Yale, though Borgos got things started once again, putting the Bulldogs up 1–0 with a goal off of a feed from forward Mary Beth Barham ’13.

    That goal was the game’s only scoring until just under 20 minutes remained, when Johna Paolino ’11 converted a feed from Mia Rosati ’12 to double the Bulldogs’ lead.

    Just over a minute later, Quinnipiac responded with a penalty corner goal to cut its deficit in half. Tensions mounted between the teams in the minutes that followed, and with just under 10 minutes left, Maddy Sharp ’13 netted a goal off a pass from midfielder Dinah Landshut ’12 to re-establish the Yale lead at two. Another penalty corner goal sliced the Bulldogs’ lead to one yet again, but Barham responded, finding not only the back of the net but also controversy, as a post-whistle tussle saw the sophomore come out of the game after ending up on the ground following her goal.

    “We knew it was going to be a physical game, but we tried not to let them rattle us.” Barham said. “In the end, we persevered through some really tough play and were able to put the ball in the back of the net.”

    Amanda Danzinger made good on an effective ball just a minute after Barham’s goal, winning the one-on-one battle with Bolling to pull the Bobcats within one. But after the dust settled, defensive play from backs Erin Carter ’12, Erica Cullum ’11 and Marissa Waldemore ’11 held off the Bobcat attack as the Bulldogs clung to the one-goal lead and eventually earned the win.

    “We stayed very composed,” Landshut said. “It was important to us to keep playing good and strong Yale field hockey and not to get distracted … It was upsetting that they kept coming back, but we kept the game under control and continued generating scoring opportunities.”

    The Bulldogs will need to continue to maintain control of their games next weekend as they face off against Colgate (1–4) and UMass (1–3). Both games are afternoon meetings at Johnson Field.

  9. F. HOCKEY | Elis look to ‘raise the bar’

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    The Yale field hockey team begins its pursuit of the Ivy League titleFriday night as it opens its 2010-’11 season with a non-conference showdown against in-state foe Sacred Heart.

    The Bulldogs are coming off one of the most successful seasons in school history — one that saw them post a 12–5 record on their way to a second-place Ivy League finish. But in keeping with the team’s2010-’11 mantra, “Raising the Bar,” Coach Pam Stuper and the Yale squadarenot content to duplicate last season, and they have changed their strategy from 2009 in the hopeof finally taking the top spot in the Ancient Eight.

    Instead of the 3–3–4 format (three forwards, three midfielders, four backs) the Bulldogs featured last year, Yale has instituted a 2–2–3–3 scheme. With this new setup, and the fact that the Bulldogs are returning four of their top six scorers from last season, Yale hopes to come out firing Saturday night at Johnson Field.

    Among the candidates to replace the two scorers the Bulldogs lost at the end of last season— Katie Cantore ’10 and Ashley MacCauley ’10 — is freshman forward Erica Borgos ’14.

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    “She’s gonna score,” Yale goalkeeper Ona McConnell ’13 said of Borgos. “She’s always around the ball and is just a natural scorer.”

    Fellow freshmen Emily Schukert ’14 and Georgia Holland ’14 have also impressed.

    “There is a lot of talent and speed coming from the freshmen,” back Marissa Waldemore ’11said. “They all have the ability to contribute this season. We are looking forward to having a deep bench and being able to sub every couple of minutes to make sure our options are strong and fast upfield.”

    The Bulldogs may need to take advantage of that depth sooner than they had hoped, as forward Mia Rosati ’12 (six goals, one assist in 2009) has battled tendonitis in her leg throughout the preseason, though she hopes to be ready to contribute Friday night. Classmates Dinah Landshutc ’12 (16 points in 2009) and Erin Carter ’12 (17 points in 2009) will lead the Bulldogs as they attempt to duplicate last year’s 7–1 drubbing of Sacred Heart.

    Captain Katie Bolling ’11 will most likely be between the pipes for the Bulldogs tomorrow night, as she and her team finally will get a chance to see the fruits of their intense off-season labor.

    “Our confidence really builds off of the preparation we have put into getting ready for season,” Bolling said. “We have taken the necessary steps to get where we need to be.”

    Where they want to be is at the top of the Ivy League, and their quest to reach that point begins Friday night at 7 p.m. at Johnson Field.

    The first 50 fans will receive a free personal pizza as the Bulldogs sponsor “Get a Grip” night in support of teammate McConnell’s fight against myotonic dystrophy.

  10. FIELD HOCKEY | Bulldog taking initiative after diagnosis

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    For many Yale athletes, sports provide a much-needed release from the stress of the high-pressure lives that so many Yalies lead. Yet for one Bulldog, sports are just another reminder of the disease that has changed her life and could take away her ability to play.

    Ona McConnell ’13, a sophomore goalkeeper on the Yale field hockey team, suffers from myotonic dystrophy, the most common form of muscular dystrophy, according to McDonnell. She is still enrolled at Yale and is a member of the team. But, like other forms of muscular dystrophy, the disease causes rapid muscle deterioration, which could eventually result in a crippling lack of muscle control and, due to the loss of lung muscle, death. McConnell was diagnosed with the genetically transmitted disease about six months ago, and doctors have told her that her condition is one of the most rapidly deteriorating cases they have ever seen, she said. When McConnell was diagnosed, she was told that she had six to 10 years before the disease would affect function in her feet, a sign it was spreading. She has already experienced those symptoms. Doctors also said that in some, but not many, cases, patients experience pain; for McConnell, the pain is so great that she can hardly sleep or write.

    Because of the lack of adequate funding for research, doctors are not only unable to find a cure for the potentially fatal condition, but they are also unable to treat this pain. Much of the discomfort is due to severe muscle cramping — most commonly seen in the patient’s inability to unclench a fist or loosen a grip — a reality McConnell must deal with every day as she battles not only to be a Yale student, but also to play the game she loves.

    “The game has gotten very hard,” McConnell said. “I now may never get any gametime in the future, but after having this game almost taken away from me six months ago, I realized how much I loved it, and if I only ever practice, that’s enough for me.”

    McConnell credits her teammates for providing support through the struggles.

    “I wouldn’t have made it through last year without my teammates.” McConnell said. “I chose Yale because of the team — they’re like a family, and I know I always have something to go to when I need help.”

    McConnell’s teammates have been equally as inspired by her.

    “She hides it so well. We don’t even realize how much pain she is in,” Dinah Landshut ’12 said. “To us, she looks completely normal, and we can’t even begin to understand what she’s going through.””

    After her diagnosis, McConnell refused to relinquish her grip on her future. McConnell and her mother began researching her condition, eventually coming across the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation — a group for which, in just six short months, McConnell has now become the youngest board member and an administrative equal of a former Virginia governor.

    Through her work with the foundation, McConnell has learned that scientists are an estimated 10 years from finding a cure for the disease, and that if it were not for a lack of funding, they might already have one, she said. While she cannot contribute to the research effort herself yet, the pre-med student and her teammates are determined to fund at least those who can. The team’s season opener on Friday against Sacred Heart has been dubbed “Get a Grip on Myotonic Dystrophy” night at Johnson Field, as the Bulldogs will not only battle the Pioneers on the field, but their teammate’s crippling disease off of it.

    The Yale squad will sell T-shirts for $10 apiece, both at the game and outside of Commons on Wednesday and Thursday to support research for the disease. Donators of any level will receive a blue wristband to show their support for the fight against myotonic dystrophy. The team has also organized a “Goal-a-Thon,” in which those who wish to support McConnell’s fight can pledge a certain amount of money per goal Yale scores — an idea with potential for a team returning four of its top six scorers from one of the most prolific scoring offenses in the Ivy League last season.

    The softball team has already pledged, and the Bulldogs are looking for as much support from the Yale community as possible. In that vein, the first 50 fans to arrive at Friday night’s 7:00 game will receive free pizza.

    “I want to be active. I want to do whatever I can,” McConnell said. “The pain would be much worse if I thought I could do nothing. I’m trying to take things into my own hands.”

  11. FIELD HOCKEY | Elis finish with Bears

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    The Yale field hockey team will look to finish one of most successful seasons in the program’s history with in its game against Brown (5–11, 0–6 Ivy) Saturday at Johnson Field.

    The Bulldogs (11–5, 5–1) are in sole possession of second place in the Ivy League, one game behind the Princeton (13–2, 6–0). Saturday’s showdown will, in all likelihood, be the final game of the year for the Elis, whose best chance at securing a spot in the NCAA tournament is an at-large bid. Though they have received votes in the NFCHA coaches’ poll for the past four weeks, it is unlikely that Yale will receive enough votes to secure a spot in the 16-team field.

    But just because the game’s postseason implications may be minimal does not mean the matchup with the Bears will will not be meaningful for the Bulldogs. Saturday is Yale’s Senior Day, and the class of 2010 is statistically one of the highest achieving in school history, particularly on the individual level.

    Midfielder Katie Cantore ’10 has already broken Yale’s single-season assist record and, with 28 career assists, has solidified her place as second all-time in Yale history. Fellow forward Ashley McCauley ’10 has 14 points in her last six games, and now sits just one point behind Emily Montgomery ’78 for first all-time in that category. With 42 career goals, she sits five tallies behind Montgomery’s school record of 47.

    Captain Julia Weiser ’10, goalie Charlotte Goins ’10 (a Second Team All-Ivy selection in 2007), forward Lesley Kiger ’10 and back Stephanie Colantonio ’10 will also have their college careers honored in the festivities Saturday.

    Looking to spoil the moment are the Bears, who are coming off a 4–0 loss at the hands of the Penn Quakers last Saturday.

    With a win, the Bulldogs will round out the season with a 12–5 record, 6–1 in the Ivy League, giving the members of class of 2010 the first winning season of their careers. The game begins Saturday at 7 p.m. at Johnson Field.