Enma Mullo Scores On Penalty Kick For Yale

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – After watching his team play a 1-1 tie with Syracuse at Reese Stadium, Yale women's soccer coach Rudy Meredith declared his team ready for next Saturday's Ivy League opener against Princeton.

"We're prepared," he said. "We're where we need to be,"

The Bulldogs finished their pre-Ivy schedule with a 2-4-1 overall record. They took on teams from the ACC (Duke and Boston College), Big Ten (Penn State and Illinois), Big East (UConn and Syracuse) and Northeast Conference (Sacred Heart).

"We've seen countless situations and we're battle tested," Meredith said. "Princeton won't do anything to surprise us."

It's hard to imagine Yale will play a more physical game than Sunday's matchup with Syracuse. There were 23 fouls called and both teams competed hard for 110 minutes.

"I expected an even game," Meredith said. "This was a real good test for us."

Yale grabbed the lead late in the first half. Mary Kubiuk was tripped in the box, which resulted in a penalty kick. Enma Mullo calmly stepped up and banged a shot into the top left corner at 36:30.

The Orange (4-3-3) nearly tied it late in the first half. Taylor Chamberlain got off a shot that got past Yale goalkeeper Ayana Sumiyasu, but Mullo was there at the goal line to deflect it away.

Syracuse finally got the equalizer late in the second half. Rosina Callisto fired a shot that banged off the inside of the left post. The ball rolled across the goal line until Patricia Lind knocked it in with 7:39 remaining.

Both teams had chances in the two overtime periods. Yale started with a flurry and had two shots in the first two minutes but both missed the target.

Syracuse's best scoring opportunity came in the second overtime. Lind fired a hard shot that Sumiyasu dove to her left to knock away.

Sumiyasu finished with four saves for the Bulldogs, who outshot Syracuse 13-11.

Yale hosts Princeton in the Ivy opener at 4 p.m. next Saturday.

Report filed by Tim Bennett, Yale Sports Publicity