Locarno Notches First Career Goal

WORCESTER, Mass. - Following an emotional win over their archrival Harvard Saturday, and with a trip to No. 4 Princeton looming next weekend, the Yale Bulldogs had to focus on just one thing Sunday afternoon: Holy Cross. They avoided any letdown thanks to goals from three different players, including the first career goal for sophomore midfielder/forward Chelsey Locarno, and came away with a 3-1 victory.

"Overall we could have done a little better with the fundamentals, but we did what we needed to do," said Stuper.

On a day where 16 of the 22 penalty corners were Yale's, the Bulldogs got started early with three in the first six minutes. But the Crusaders were the first team to take advantage of a corner, scoring at the 15:36 mark when forward Courtney Callahan tipped the ball in off a cross in front of the goal.

The lead lasted all of 108 seconds for Holy Cross (1-6). Senior back Julia Weiser drilled home a penalty corner, with senior midfielder Katie Cantore and Waldemore getting the assists. Cantore has at least one point in all six of Yale's games this year, and has a point in nine of her last 10 games dating back to last year.

Eight minutes later, sophomore midfielder/forward Kirsten Krebs' hustle after a ball enabled her to draw another penalty corner for the Bulldogs. This time, Waldemore got in front of the goal after inserting, deflecting Weiser's shot high into the far corner for a 2-1 lead.

"Scoring all those goals in corners was definitely a huge positive for us," Stuper said. "Against Harvard we didn't score as much as we could have, which was a tribute to Harvard's goalie. It was important for us to get some goals off corners today."

A nice pass from sophomore midfielder Dinah Landshut led senior forward Ashley McCauley into the scoring circle looking to extend Yale's lead with 24 minutes left in the game, but Holy Cross goalkeeper Kelly Casey raced out to break up the play. Casey, who had seven saves on the day, made several plays throughout the game by ranging far out from the goal. She also got help from her teammates when caught out of position.

"What Holy Cross did was when she came out, they threw a pack of people into the circle," Stuper said. "There was no space for us."

Yale (4-2) got a much-needed insurance goal thanks to another penalty corner drawn by Krebs, who drove baseline and got the whistle. Weiser once again got off the shot, but it was Locarno who redirected it past Kelly with 21:58 left in the game.

Locarno, who also played softball for Yale last year, has emerged as a key player for the Bulldogs in her second year.

"Chelsey has definitely stepped up," Stuper said. "She worked hard this summer, and that has allowed her to come in and contribute. She's one of those players you can throw in at either midfield or forward and she finds a way to make something happen."

McCauley just missed another goal when she lofted a loose ball right in front of the goal past Kelly, but Crusader back Alanna Sikorski got her stick up to deflect the shot away.

The Crusaders had a penalty corner broken up by Cantore with 12 minutes to play, and their last good threat came four minutes later. Holy Cross had a numbers advantage with the ball in transition, but senior back Stephanie Colantonio intercepted a pass at the top of the Yale circle and was able to clear the ball away.

The 4-2 start to the season is the best Yale has had since 1998, when the Bulldogs started 5-1 en route to a school-record 15 wins.

Report by Sam Rubin '95 (sam.rubin@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity