Tag Archive: W. Soccer

  1. W. SOCCER | Eli women fall to Crimson

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    On Saturday, another chapter in the Harvard-Yale rivalry was written, but it didn’t have the happy ending the women’s soccer team was hoping for.

    The Crimson’s Peyton Johnson scored on a penalty kick just two minutes into overtime, and the Bulldogs (4–4–2, 1–1 Ivy) came out with a heartbreaking 2–1 loss at Reese Stadium. Harvard (6–4, 2–0) drew the overtime penalty kick after a cross from Johnson unintentionally struck Yale midfielder Muriel Battaglia’s ’15 hand.

    “It was a pretty even game,” head coach Rudy Meredith said. “I think a tie would have been a deserving result. I hate for a game to end like that, with a decision from the referee.”

    Meredith said he thought the referee’s decision to give Harvard a penalty kick off after the ball deflected off Battaglia’s hand was unwarranted.

    The Bulldogs played well throughout the first half. The team maintained possession and created more scoring opportunities than its archrivals. Yale outshot Harvard 4–3, although only one of the four shots was on goal.

    The Elis threatened to score just ten minutes into the game when Meredith Speck ’15 came down the left side and crossed the ball into the box for midfielder Juliann Jeffrey ’14, but Jeffrey’s shot sailed high over the net.

    But seven minutes later, Speck scored her third goal of the year. Kristen Forster ’13 sent a long pass to Speck, who then drilled a left-footed shot over Harvard goalkeeper Bethany Kanten and into the back of the net. Speck is known for her ability to play both the left and right sides of the field.

    “It was so exciting,” Speck said. “I couldn’t even describe how the goal happened. It was just so good to score.”

    The Yale defense was also strong throughout the first half and limited Harvard’s scoring opportunities by consistently breaking up the Crimson’s attacks.

    In the second half, however, the Crimson battled back to knot the contest in the 59th minute. Harvard forward Patricia Yau set up the goal by directing a cross to Melanie Baskind, who received the ball right in front of the net and slipped it just inside the far post to tie the game, 1–1.

    Harvard finished the second half with an 8–4 shooting edge.

    “I thought we played better in the first half,” Meredith said. “I thought we started to force things a little bit … tried to do too much too quickly instead of being a little bit more patient.”

    Though both sides generated scoring opportunities throughout the remainder of regulation, neither team could score, and the game went into sudden-death overtime.

    But in the 92nd minute, Johnson ended the game by converting on the penalty kick. Johnson fired a low shot just inside the near post to give Harvard the win.

    Speck and Meredith both said after the game that they disagreed with the handball call that resulted in the penalty kick.

    “I thought it was a ridiculous call,” Speck said. “She’s two feet away from our player. You can’t get out of the way of that. We got robbed in overtime.”

    Speck and Meredith said the questionable call was particularly difficult for the team because it was made in overtime.

    “My opinion was that there was no intention,” Meredith said. “It’s an overtime game. You don’t decide the game on a call like that that’s 50/50.”

    The win allowed Harvard to maintain its first-place standing in the Ivy League along with Columbia, which defeated Brown last weekend. Two games into the Ivy season, both Harvard and Columbia remain undefeated. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are currently in a four-way tie for third alongside Penn, Brown and Dartmouth.

    The Elis are slated to continue league play Saturday with a match against Dartmouth. Kickoff is 5:30 p.m. at Reese Stadium.

  2. W. SOCCER | Elis hope to end losing skid vs. Crimson

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    The last three times the women’s soccer team has faced Harvard, the Crimson have come out on top. This Saturday, the Bulldogs (4–3–2, 1–0 Ivy) will look to end that streak when they take on the Cantabs (5–4, 1–0) in a key conference matchup, and try to stay unbeaten at Reese Stadium.

    “We haven’t beaten Harvard in a few years, so we’re a little frustrated with that,” goalkeeper Adele Jackson-Gibson ’13 said. “We definitely want to put them away.”

    Saturday will mark the 37th meeting between the two teams. Harvard owns a 27–8–1 edge in the all-time series against Yale. Needless to say, head coach Rudy Meredith said the Bulldogs are looking forward to taking on their archrivals.

    “I think we get pumped up to play Harvard [even] in freaking checkers,” he said. “We always get pumped up to play Harvard because it’s Harvard.”

    The Elis, who have won three of their last four games, opened Ivy League play last Saturday with a 2—0 victory over Princeton. Midfielder Kristen Forster ’13 and forward Melissa Gavin ’15 both scored goals just 36 seconds apart to lead the Bulldogs to their first conference win of the year.

    Meredith said he believes it will take the same showing to defeat the Crimson this weekend.

    “It has to be, similar to Princeton, a total team effort,” Meredith said. “Everybody has to contribute.”

    Gavin leads the team with three goals and 26 shots. She is also tied with midfielder Enma Mullo ’12 for a team-high seven points.

    Defensively, the Elis’ back line has posted four shutouts this year, matching the team’s total from all of last season. Jackson-Gibson has started all nine games in net this season and sports a 0.73 goals-against average.

    Like the Bulldogs, Harvard also began Ancient Eight competition with a win after handing defending champion Penn a 2–0 loss last Friday in Cambridge. The Crimson also defeated New Hampshire, 4–1, on Sunday to complete the weekend sweep.

    But the road has not been kind to Harvard this year, as it has fallen in all three of its away contests.

    The Crimson offense features one of the Ivy League’s most dangerous players in senior midfielder/forward Melanie Baskind. Baskind, who was named the Ivy League Player of the Week on Monday, leads the Ancient Eight with 29 shots, 14 points and six assists, and her four goals are also tied for the most in the league. Freshman midfielder Meg Casscells-Hamby has also been strong for Harvard, tallying nine points on three goals and three assists.

    Four different players have seen time in front of the net for Harvard. Alexandra Millet has started six games for the Crimson and owns a 2.67 goals-against average.

    Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. at Reese Stadium.

  3. W. SOCCER | Speedy goalie slowing down opponents

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    The summer after her sophomore year of high school, goalkeeper Adele Jackson-Gibson ’13 attended a soccer camp hosted by Yale at Wesleyan University. While at the camp, she jumped to make a save and caught a ball over the crossbar. The play caught the attention of Rudy Meredith, head coach of the Yale women’s soccer team.

    “I’ve never seen a keeper catch a ball over the crossbar like that,” Meredith said. “We were all like, ‘Oh, wow. This kid is athletic.’”

    Today, Jackson-Gibson not only stands in front of the net as the women’s soccer team’s starting goalkeeper, but has helped the team record four shutouts this season, matching the team’s total from all of last season. Part of what has allowed her to excel as a keeper is that she possesses a level of athleticism and speed that is rarely seen in front of the net. In fact, Jackson-Gibson is the fastest player on the soccer team and also runs track for Yale as a sprinter and jumper, making her the squad’s only two-sport athlete.

    This speed helps her as a keeper because she can come off her line quickly and secure balls that go over or through the defense, Meredith and captain Miyuki Hino ’12 said. They also said that the ability to close down plays faster than most netminders gives the Bulldogs a lot of defensive coverage in the box. And, as she showed at the soccer camp, Jackson-Gibson also has an impressive vertical leap that allows the five-foot-seven-inch keeper to catch high balls.

    Years ago, though, Jackson-Gibson hoped to apply her speed to another position — striker. “I’ve always secretly wanted to be a forward because I really like sprinting,” she said.

    But her club coach at the time thought she would make a good goalie because she was tall for her age, and decided to put her in goal. Though Jackson-Gibson spent some time as a field player during her club soccer days, she remained primarily a goalkeeper.

    Still, there is more to being a successful keeper than pure athleticism. Due to the pressures that come with the position, they must also possess a high level of mental toughness, Meredith said. “Other players can make 25 to 30 mistakes in a game, and then the goalkeeper makes one mistake and then it costs you the game,” she said. “You’ve got to be able to be mentally strong enough to handle that and be able to bounce back, which she is.”

    Though Jackson-Gibson’s athleticism sets her apart from most goalkeepers, it did not guarantee her the starting position when she first arrived at Yale. In fact, her first career appearance came not in goal, but on the field as a defender after the team was hit with a number of injuries.

    But after serving as the back-up goalkeeper for the past two seasons, Jackson-Gibson finally got the opportunity to take over as the team’s starting goalkeeper this year — a role she has fully embraced.

    “It’s something I wanted for two years,” Jackson-Gibson said. “It’s finally happening, and I don’t want to take it for granted at all. It’s been what I’ve been working towards for most of my life.”

    So far, her efforts have paid off. Jackson-Gibson has started all nine games in goal for the Bulldogs this season, compiling a 0.73 goals against average while making 35 saves, which rank third and second among Ancient Eight goalkeepers respectively.

    “She’s done an amazing job so far,” Hino said. “It’s not easy to come in and establish a strong working relationship with a back line, and she’s done a really great job of that so far. She worked so hard mentally and physically to be prepared for this, and I think she understands what it means to be a calming and composed force at the back.”

    Having shut out Princeton last weekend in the team’s Ivy League opener, Jackson-Gibson hopes for a similar result when the Bulldogs host Harvard on Saturday.

  4. W. SOCCER | Two goals in a minute power Yale past Tigers

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    In last season’s Ivy League opener against Princeton, midfielder Kristen Forster ’13 scored a last-minute, game-tying goal, only to see it nullified by an offside call.

    Forster scored again in this year’s Ivy opener against Princeton. But this time her goal not only stood – it also proved to be the game-winner.

    Forster’s goal in the 56th minute, coupled with an insurance goal from forward Melissa Gavin ’15 just 36 seconds later, lifted the Bulldogs (4–3–2, 1-0 Ivy) to a 2–0 victory over Princeton (1–6–1, 0-1 Ivy) on Saturday at the Tigers’ Roberts Stadium.

    “Last year it was really unfortunate that the call didn’t go our way,” Forster said. “I wasn’t really thinking about that during the game today. It was just really exciting to put the ball in the back of the net.”

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    Goalkeeper Adele Jackson-Gibson ’13 made six saves to earn the win. It was the fourth shutout of the season for the Bulldogs, matching their total from all of last year.

    The first half was tightly contested with both teams trading shots throughout the entire opening stanza.

    Forward Jen Hoy was the biggest offensive threat for the Tigers and took five shots in the first half — three of which were on target — but she could not get any of them past Jackson-Gibson.

    The Elis also generated their share of scoring chances and nearly capitalized in the 39th minute when midfielder Meredith Speck ’15 fired a shot that hit the crossbar.

    Yale and Princeton both finished the first half with a total of six shots.

    “I think the first half was really even,” midfielder Enma Mullo ’12 said. “Everyone on the field was just trying as hard as possible. They were coming at us, and then we would go at them.”

    The Elis broke through 11 minutes into the second half with Forster’s goal. Forster took a cross from Mullo and dribbled past Princeton defenders in the box before slotting it into the corner of the net to give Yale a 1–0 advantage.

    Thirty-six seconds later, the Bulldogs doubled their lead after Speck found Gavin on the left side, allowing her to fire a shot past Princeton netminder Claire Pinciaro for her third goal of the year.

    “It was amazing,” Mullo said. “We were really focused on not letting them [score], and all of a sudden they were trying to come at us and their defense was wide open. We just took advantage of it.”

    The Tigers could not recover from the two-goal deficit the rest of the way, giving the Elis their first road win the year. The visiting team has now won the last five meetings between the two rivals.

    In addition to the Bulldogs, Harvard, Brown and Columbia also opened Ancient Eight competition with wins. Defending champions Penn fell to the Crimson.

    “It’s a great way to start off the Ivy season,” head coach Rudy Meredith said. “If you don’t win the first game you basically can’t make any mistakes the rest of the season. You’re already behind at least four other teams from the beginning, so at least we’re in the top half of the group right now. We don’t have to play catch-up.”

    The Elis return to action on Saturday when they host archrival Harvard. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Reese Stadium.

  5. W. SOCCER | Elis open Ivies with Princeton grudge match

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    In last season’s Ivy League opener against Princeton, the women’s soccer team was trailing 1–0 with 10 seconds left on the clock when forward Kristen Forster ’13 scored on a breakaway opportunity. But that goal, which would have forced overtime in dramatic fashion, was nullified by an offside call, giving the Tigers the win. This year, the Bulldogs (3–3–2) will look for a less tragic outcome when they open conference play against the struggling Tigers (1–5–1) on Saturday in N.J.

    The Bulldogs will go into the matchup coming off a 3–1 defeat at Boston University on Sunday. Though the Elis erased an early 1–0 deficit with a goal from midfielder Enma Mullo ’12, they were unable to respond to the Terriers’ two second-half goals, resulting in a BU victory.

    Despite the loss, head coach Rudy Meredith said after the game that he was pleased with the team’s performance and considered the match a good tune-up for the start of Ivy competition.

    “I’m happy with the way we played, and if we play like this against Princeton, I think we’ll be OK,” he said.

    Mullo, who was named the Ivy League Player of the Week on Monday, currently leads the team with six points. Goalkeeper Adele Jackson-Gibson ’13 has started all eight games for the Bulldogs and has a 0.83 goals-against average, fourth among Ancient Eight keepers.

    Though the Elis have yet to win on the road this season, being the visiting team may work to their advantage against the Tigers, as the road team has won the last four meetings between the two rivals. Yale currently has a three-game win streak at Roberts Stadium.

    Princeton last played on Wednesday night when it earned a 2–2 draw against Lafayette. The Tigers’ lone win this season came on Sept. 11 after they defeated Villanova, 2–1.

    Five different players have tallied goals for Princeton this season. Forward Jen Hoy and midfielder Caitlin Blosser currently share the team lead with two goals each. Hoy, who scored the game-winning goal in last season’s match between Princeton and Yale, has also racked up a team-high six points. Goalkeeper Claire Pinciaro has played the majority of the minutes in net for the Tigers and owns a 1.96 goals-against average.

    Princeton holds a 20–13–4 edge in the all-time series against Yale.

    Kickoff against the Tigers is slated for 3:30 p.m. in Princeton, N.J.

  6. W. SOCCER | Yale stays undefeated at home, faces road woes

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    The women’s soccer team remains undefeated at home but winless on the road after splitting a pair of games over the weekend. The Bulldogs (3–3–2) defeated Vermont (2–4–2), 2–1, on Friday night at Reese Stadium before suffering a 3–1 defeat at Boston University (7–2–1) on Sunday.

    Though the Bulldogs dominated the first half against Vermont and took a 1–0 lead into halftime, the Catamounts battled back to tie the game in the 58th minute. Still, midfielder Enma Mullo ’12 scored the game-winning goal in the 74th minute to propel the Elis to victory.

    Goalkeeper Adele Jackson-Gibson ’13 made six saves — all in the second half — to earn the win.

    “I think we made it a little bit more difficult on ourselves than it needed to be,” forward Kristen Forster ’13 said. “We should have been up a few more goals at halftime, so we made the second half a little more challenging than it should have been.”

    Yale controlled the ball throughout the first half, outshooting the Catamounts, 8–1, while generating numerous quality scoring chances.

    Mullo threatened in the 20th minute when she stole the ball from a Vermont defender and dribbled deep into the box, but Vermont goalkeeper Sarah Leiby came out to block the shot.

    The Bulldogs generated another opportunity in the 33rd minute after midfielder Meredith Speck ’15 sent a cross into the box for forward Frannie Coxe ’15, but her header went directly into Leiby’s arms.

    Vermont was 38 seconds away from escaping the first half unscathed, but the Elis capitalized with Forster’s first goal of the season. After Vermont turned the ball over, forward Georgiana Wagemann ’15 slid a ball to Forster, who shot it into the lower right corner of the near post to put the Bulldogs up, 1–0.

    “I thought we played very well in the first half,” head coach Rudy Meredith said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have a second goal to show for the good play, which kept [Vermont] in the game mentally.”

    The Catamounts came out stronger in the second half and began pressuring Yale. Though the Bulldogs outshot the Catamounts 8–1 in the first half, Vermont turned the tables on the Elis after halftime and finished with a 12–4 edge in the second frame.

    Just two minutes into the second half, Vermont forward Bre Pletnick rocketed a left footed shot towards the net, forcing Jackson-Gibson to make a leaping save.

    Vermont produced another dangerous opportunity in the 54th minute when Midori Eckenstein fired a shot that hit the crossbar and bounced back in front of the net, but midfielder Trish Berkanish ’13 tracked the ball down and cleared it out of the Catamounts’ range.

    Vermont broke through in the 58th minute to knot the contest. After a foul on Yale gave the Catamounts a free kick directly in front of the box, Alexa DeMaio converted with a high shot just below the middle of the crossbar to tie the game, 1–1.

    But the Elis quickly regained control and responded in the 74th minute. Coxe came down the left side of the field and sent a cross ahead to Mullo, who settled the pass before drilling it into the inside of the near post. It was her first goal of the season.

    “I felt like it was coming,” Mullo said. “I had that one chance [in the first half], and I had another one in the second half. But I felt like I was going to score today, so I was pretty happy when I did.”

    The Bulldogs’ lead would ultimately stand, giving them their third win of the season.

    The Elis returned to action on Sunday when they traveled to Massachusetts to take on a Boston University squad that was temporarily ranked No. 20 in the nation. In a dogfight between Bulldogs and Terriers, BU came out on top, defeating Yale, 3–1.

    Though the Elis came back from an early deficit to tie the game in the first half, BU netted two second-half goals to emerge with the win.

    The Terriers scored 10 minutes into the contest on a goal from Brittany Heist to take an early lead. The goal was set up by Jessica Luscinski, who placed a corner kick in front of the net. Two Terriers took unsuccessful shots before Heist sneaked a shot through traffic and into the back of the net to put BU up, 1–0.

    Jackson-Gibson started the game between the pipes for the Elis, but left the game at the 17:58 mark when she came down hard after making a leaping save. Though Jackson-Gibson suffered some whiplash on the play, she is not expected to miss any more games, according to Meredith. Freshman keeper Elise Wilcox ’15 came in to replace Jackson-Gibson and stayed on for the remainder of the game. It was Wilcox’s first collegiate appearance.

    The Bulldogs fought back to tie the game in the 21st minute on Mullo’s second goal of the weekend. Mullo took a pass from Forster and shot it over BU goalkeeper Kelley King and into the right corner of the net.

    “I thought we did a good job staying in the game and competing with them,” Meredith said. “I was very happy with our performance in the first half.”

    Heist’s second goal of the afternoon broke the tie and put the Terriers ahead, 2–1, in the 62nd minute of play. Heist took a corner kick from Kylie Strom and headed it into the left corner of the net.

    BU secured the win with a last minute insurance goal from Madison Clemens, who intercepted a clearance shot from Wilcox and sent the ball into the back of the Yale net, giving the Terriers a 3–1 victory.

    The Bulldogs now turn their attention to the start of Ivy League competition, which opens this Saturday at Princeton.

    “I’m happy with the way we played, and if we play like this against Princeton, I think we’ll be okay,” Meredith said.

    Kickoff against the Tigers is slated for 3:30 p.m. in Princeton, N.J.

  7. W. SOCCER | Two last chances before Ivy opener

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    The women’s soccer team continues non-conference play this weekend with a pair of games against America East opponents. The Bulldogs (2–2–2) will host Vermont (2–3–2) on Friday night before traveling to Massachusetts to face Boston University (6–2–1) on Sunday.

    The two matchups will be the Bulldogs’ last chances to prepare for their Ivy League opener at Princeton on Sept. 24.

    “I think we just want to finalize what formation we play best at,” head coach Rudy Meredith said. “We’re getting close to that decision, but I think we will finalize that after this weekend.”

    Yale has some momentum going into Friday night’s matchup after defeating cross-town rival Quinnipiac 2–0 on Tuesday night. Freshmen forwards Melissa Gavin ’15 and Frannie Coxe ’15 both found the back of the net to lift the Bulldogs past the Bobcats.

    So far Gavin and Meredith Speck ’15 are leading the team with five and four points, respectively. Goalkeeper Adele Jackson-Gibson ’13 has started all six games in front of the net for the Elis and currently sports a 0.67 goals against average.

    Vermont enters the weekend coming off a 1–1 deadlock with Brown on Saturday. Haley Marks and Alexandra Dezenzo share the team lead in points with three points each. Though the Catamounts have posted a 2–0–1 record at home, they have not been as successful on the road, where they are 0–3–1. Vermont has a 9–5 edge in the all-time series against Yale, though the two teams have not faced each other since 1995.

    Boston University last played on Wednesday when it cruised to a 3–0 victory over archrival Harvard. The Terriers are led offensively by Kylie Strom and Jessica Luscinski, who have each tallied a team-high eight points. Goalkeepers Alice Binns and Kelly King have split the duties in front of the net and have combined to post five shutouts.

    Kickoff against Vermont is slated for 7 p.m. on Friday night at Reese Stadium. The Elis then travel to face Boston University on Sunday at 2 p.m.

  8. W. SOCCER | Freshmen forwards score in Elis’ win

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    The women’s soccer team faced two Big East teams over the weekend but despite playing well, fell short each time. On Tuesday night, however, the Bulldogs finally got the result they felt they had earned.

    Yale rebounded at home and defeated Quinnipiac 2–0 in a game that saw the Elis (2–2–2) settle down midway through the half and outshoot the Bobcats 15–6. Freshmen forwards Melissa Gavin ’15 and Frannie Coxe ’15 both scored to lead their team to victory.

    “It felt really good,” midfielder Enma Mullo ’12 said. “It finally felt like luck went our way. Tonight we did everything we did on Friday and Sunday, but we finished our chances.”

    The first 13 minutes of the game was played mostly in the midfield, as neither side was able to produce many scoring opportunities early on.

    The Bobcats (0–3–1) threatened in the 25th minute when Furtuna Velaj crossed the ball to an open Crystal Burns, whose shot was heading towards the back of the net, but defender Torrey Leroy ’13 was able to clear the ball off the line and save a goal.

    “Our defense is like a brick wall,” Coxe said. “They don’t really let anything through.”

    The Elis took a 1–0 lead 10 minutes later when Mullo found Gavin inside the box, allowing her to fire a shot into the upper right corner of the net for her second goal of the season.

    Yale pressured the Bobcats for the remainder of the first half and almost extended its lead in the 43rd minute. Forward Kristen Forster ’13 connected with a streaking Gavin, who fired a shot from inside the box, but Quinnipiac goalkeeper Jill Kelley made a sliding save to deny the Bulldogs.

    The Elis went into halftime with an 8–2 edge in shots.

    Quinnipiac had a good chance to knot the contest at the 72:18 mark when Kat Young took a shot from the top of the box, but it went wide of the net.

    Coxe’s first career goal put the Elis ahead 2–0 late in the second half. Coxe took a cross from forward Mary Kubiuk ’13, juggled it over a defender and drilled it into the back of the net.

    “It was nice to finally contribute on the scoreboard to the team,” Coxe said. “When you work hard on and off the field it’s nice to finally have something to show for that.”

    The Yale defense only allowed one shot for the remainder of the game, to keep the Bobcats off the board. It was the team’s third shutout this season. The Bulldogs had four shutouts all of last season.

    “I was very proud of our performance tonight,” head coach Rudy Meredith said. “It was a really good performance — a total performance. We played well offensively and defensively.”

    The Bulldogs continue non-conference play this Friday when they host Vermont. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Reese Stadium.

  9. W. SOCCER | Yale drops two on the road

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    The women’s soccer team suffered its first losses of the season this weekend, falling to two Big East opponents on the road.

    The Bulldogs (1–2–2) lost at Rutgers, 1–0, (4–2) on Friday night before dropping a 2–1 contest at St. John’s (4–2–2) on Sunday. Rutgers’ offense outperformed Yale, outshooting the Elis 15 to five. The Bulldogs fared better against St. John’s with eight shots to the Red Storm’s nine and a 1–0 lead for most of the game, but a late St. John’s rally gave the Red Storm the 2–1 victory.

    Despite the losses, midfielder Enma Mullo ’12 said the Elis performed well.

    “I think that every game we’ve been playing we’ve been getting better,” Mullo said. “We played really well against Rutgers, and I think we played even better against St. John’s, so we’re definitely improving.”

    The Bulldogs began their roadtrip in New Jersey against Rutgers.

    The only goal of the game came from Rutgers midfielder Stefanee Pace, who scored in the 14th minute. Pace came down the right side of the field and lifted a ball over the head of goalkeeper Adele Jackson-Gibson ’13 and into the bottom left corner of the net to give the Scarlet Knights a 1–0 lead.

    “Their goal was one of the luckiest goals ever,” Mullo said. “She had a terrible angle and tried to cross the ball and it went into the net.”

    The Bulldogs had a chance to score at the 25:09 mark when forward Melissa Gavin ’15 fired a shot, but Rutgers goalkeeper Emmy Simpkins was there to make the save.

    The Scarlet Knights outshot the Bulldogs nine to two in the second half, but Jackson-Gibson did not allow another goal, stopping a season-high 10 shots in the contest. Overall, Rutgers outshot the Elis 15 to five.

    The Elis nearly knotted the contest in the 72nd minute when a shot from Georgiana Wagemann ’15 hit the post and deflected to Meredith Speck ’15, but her shot went high over the net.

    Despite the fact that it was Yale’s first loss of the season, Head coach Rudy Meredith said he was pleased with the team’s performance. He highlighted the play of the Yale back line, especially Trish Berkanish ‘13 and Torrey Leroy ‘13, who he said “played some of their best soccer.”

    “I’m pretty happy with our performance, especially in the first half,” Meredith said. “I thought we changed formations a little bit, and I felt like the kids actually played pretty well.”

    The Bulldogs hit the road again on Sunday when they traveled to Queens, N.Y. to face St. John’s. Though the Elis held a 1–0 lead through the first half, the Red Storm scored two late goals to come away with a 2-1 win.

    St. John’s had the advantage of being well rested, as they had not played in a week. The Elis, on the other hand, played on Tuesday and Friday night, which Meredith said became a factor down the stretch.

    “I actually thought this was probably our best game this season,” he said. “We played very well in the first half, and we played pretty good in the second half too, but we got tired. They’re a little bit more rested than us, so I was happy with our performance.”

    The Bulldogs controlled the ball throughout the first half with a 6–3 edge in shots.

    Yale struck first with a goal from forward Melissa Gavin ’15 in the 28th minute. After St. John’s goalkeeper Kristin Russell kicked the ball out to a defender in the box, Gavin stole the pass and buried it into the back left of the net to give the Elis a 1–0 advantage. It was her first career goal.

    “It was nice to get my first goal,” Gavin said. “It would have been nicer if we had won, but it was just nice to get it.”

    The Bulldogs held their lead for the rest of the first half and through the beginning of the second half, but as the game went on, the Elis began to fatigue, opening up chances for St. John’s.

    “The first 70 minutes we definitely had them,” Mullo said. “We had them on their heels, and then we just got tired. We were really tired, and it showed that there was such a big difference in the last quarter of the game.”

    Midfielder Jen Gibbons scored the equalizer for the Red Storm in the 65th minute after she took a cross from Jen Leaverton and shot it into the back of the net.

    St. John’s seized the lead thirteen minutes later on a goal from Leaverton and held onto it for the remainder of the game.

    The Red Storm outshot the Bulldogs 6-2 after halftime.

    The Bulldogs will be back in action on Tuesday when they take on cross-town rival Quinnipiac.

    “I think on Tuesday, we’re going to have to fight hard to try to get a win,” Meredith said. “We’ve been playing well, but we need to get a win to show how well we’ve been playing, so that’s going to be our priority.”

    Kickoff against the Bobcats is slated for 7 p.m. at Reese Stadium.

  10. W. SOCCER | Elis face the Big East

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    The women’s soccer team will face its first tests on the road this weekend with a pair of games against Big East teams. The Bulldogs (1–0–2) will travel to New Jersey to take on Rutgers (3–2) on Friday night before heading to New York for a matchup against St. John’s (3–2–1) on Sunday.

    The Elis have yet to drop a game this season, and enter the weekend coming off a 1–1 tie against Sacred Heart on Tuesday. The team’s newcomers continued to impress, with forward Meredith Speck ’15 scoring the tying goal on an assist from forward Melissa Gavin ’15. Freshmen have accounted for seven of the Bulldogs’ nine points this season, including all three of the team’s goals.

    “Obviously they had some big shoes to fill with Becky Brown ’11 being gone as an attacking player,” head coach Rudy Meredith said on Tuesday. “Right now Meredith and Melissa are doing a pretty good job offensively fulfilling that role.”

    The Elis have also been solid defensively and have allowed just one goal through their first three games.

    Rutgers last played on Sunday when it dropped a 1–0 contest to No. 6 UCLA in Los Angeles. The Scarlet Knights are led by forward Jonelle Filigno, who has tallied a team-high nine points through five games. Junior goalkeeper Emmy Simpkins has been strong for Rutgers in front of the net and currently sports a 0.78 goals against average.

    St. John’s is coming off a weekend sweep of Albany and Columbia during the New York City Classic. The Red Storm defeated Albany 2–0 on Friday before earning a 1–0 victory against Columbia on Sunday. The two wins gave St. John’s a second-place finish in the tournament, behind Hofstra. Defense has been a strong point for the Red Storm, as the team has posted three shutouts in its last four games, which currently ranks second in the Big East.

    Kickoff against Rutgers is slated for Friday at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs face St. John’s on Sunday at 4 p.m.

  11. W. SOCCER | Elis earn tie in the rain

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    The women’s soccer team continued its undefeated start to the season with a 1–1 tie against Sacred Heart in a game that was cut short by rainy conditions on Tuesday night at Reese Stadium.

    Though the Pioneers (2–1–1) held a 1–0 lead through the entire first half, the Bulldogs (1–0–2) came back to tie the game in the 63rd minute on a goal from freshman forward Meredith Speck ’15. Due to heavy rainfall, both teams mutually agreed to suspend the game with 19 minutes left on the clock.

    “Under the circumstances, we’ll take the tie because we didn’t finish the game,” head coach Rudy Meredith said. “I don’t think we played particularly well today, but in the scheme of things, it’s okay.”

    Sacred Heart got on the board first after defender Lauren Boccio found the back of the net in the 19th minute. The goal was set up by a free kick from defender Alyssa Brandofino, who placed her shot in front of the far post, allowing Boccio to chip it past goalkeeper Adele Jackson-Gibson ’13.

    The Elis nearly tied it at the 32:19 mark when forward Kristen Forster ’13 rocketed a shot from the top of the box, but Sacred Heart goalkeeper Sydney Judkins managed to get a piece of it and send it over the net.

    Yale quickened the pace of the game after halftime and manufactured quality scoring chances early in the second half. In the 49th minute, Speck took a shot from inside the box that was stopped by Judkins. The ball rebounded to midfielder Enma Mullo ’12, whose low shot went just wide of the net. The Bulldogs finished the game with a 15-5 edge in shots.

    Yale scored the equalizer after Speck took a cross from fellow freshman Melissa Gavin ’15 and slid it into the lower left corner of the net for her second goal of the year. The assist gave Gavin her first career point.

    “[Speck and I] combine a lot on the field, so I kind of saw her and knew that she would finish it,” Gavin said.

    All three of the Bulldogs’ goals this season have come from freshmen.

    The field conditions worsened as the game went on, with rain continuing to pour down on the artificial turf. Puddles littered the field and slowed down passes. At times, the ball even came to a full stop.

    “We’re a really possession-oriented team, so when the ball was stopping on the ground it was really hard for us to pass the ball around, so we kind of resorted to kicking it long which isn’t really our style,” Gavin said. “I don’t think that helped us.”

    The game was finally suspended in the 71st minute, ending the game in a tie. Meredith said he believes the abbreviated contest might help the team in the long run, as the team was playing its third game in five days.

    “In the long term it was probably a good thing for us because we didn’t have to play a whole 90 minutes,” he said. “Now our kids can recover a little bit and get ready for the weekend.”

    The Elis return to action this Friday when they travel to New Jersey to face Rutgers. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. in New Brunswick.