April 21, 2004

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New Haven, CT - Down 2-1 13 minutes into the game, Yale reeled off eight straight goals in a span of just under 20 minutes and went on to beat Brown 12-4 at Johnson Field Wednesday afternoon. The Bulldogs (11-4, 4-2 Ivy) thus finished the year 10-1 at home, and with a win at Cornell on Saturday could be in position for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

Yale started slowly, as Brown (6-5, 2-3 Ivy) got two goals from Laurel Pierpont for the lead after Miles Whitman had opened the scoring. Yale began taking charge with two unassisted goals from Katherine Sargent, one at 15:07 and one at 9:25. In the final 3:07 of the first half Yale scored four times, getting three goals from Sophie Melniker and one from Sarah Driscoll.

"Katie was the spark," said Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach Amanda O'Leary. "She put in some crucial goals and had some big one-v-ones."

The 7-2 halftime lead for the Bulldogs proved too much for Brown. Whitman added two more goals in the second half, while Driscoll, Sargent and Aly Croffy had one each. Yale got eight saves from Lonnie Sarnell for the win.

The Bulldogs travel to Cornell Saturday to face a Big Red squad that is coming off back-to-back wins over Ivy foes (Columbia and Brown). Yale needs a win in its final game to remain in contention for a possible bid to the NCAA tournament. Sixteen teams make the field, including eight at-large selections. While the Bulldogs wrap up play Saturday, many of the teams they are competing with play through May 8, and Yale may have to do some scoreboard-watching.

"You beat Cornell and there's nothing else you can do," said O'Leary. "It's out of our hands."

report by Sam Rubin '95, Yale Sports Publicity Department