Brown, Hino Score 1:10 Apart

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Yale had a clear edge in play for maybe 15 minutes in Friday night's women's soccer game with Dartmouth. That turned out to be more than enough. Becky Brown and Miyuki Hino scored 1:10 apart midway through the first half as the Bulldogs earned an important 2-0 Ivy League win on a mild night at Reese Stadium.

Yale, which won its fourth straight game, improved to 2-0 in Ivy play while handing the Big Green (5-5, 2-1 Ivy) its first league loss. Both of the Bulldogs' Ivy wins have come by shutout.

"I'm really happy with the play of our defense," said Yale head coach Rudy Meredith. "It was a total team effort. We subbed a lot to give some people a rest, and we got a good effort from everybody."

Both of Yale's goals were pretty. Brown got the Bulldogs on the board at 17:24 when she settled a Leslie Perez pass and fired a shot into the right corner from 10 yards out. It was Brown's team-leading 10th goal of the season.

A little over a minute later, Yale struck again. This time Hino and Kristen Forster connected on a nifty give-and-go. Hino deposited a shot past Dartmouth goalkeeper Colleen Hogan from nearly the same spot as Brown's goal.

Brown had two good opportunities to give the Bulldogs a three-goal lead before the end of the first half but couldn't capitalize. The first came when Perez sent a perfect cross into the box, but Brown's one-timer went just wide. A few minutes later, Brown got behind the defense and chipped a shot over Hogan's head that rolled harmlessly to the right of the far post.

Dartmouth (5-5) then dominated the second half but was unable to beat Yale goalkeeper Ayana Sumiyasu, who made five saves to post her fourth shutout of the season. The Big Green outshot the Bulldogs 9-2 in the last 45 minutes and had four corner kicks.

"Sometimes a two-goal lead can be difficult to play with," Meredith said. "The second half was a little chaotic. They put us under some pressure, but we kind of bent but didn't break."

Yale is back in action on Wednesday, playing at Holy Cross. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.

Report filed by Tim Bennett, Yale Sports Publicity