Four Different Players Score

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The shot chart favored Yale 27-9, but the final score Sunday afternoon at Johnson Field -- 4-3 -- was more indicative of the hard-fought nature of the Bulldogs' win over Quinnipiac. With the Bobcats' two goalies combining for 12 saves, and three Yale goals in the second half that were each followed almost immediately by Quinnipiac goals, the Bulldogs had to battle for everything they got as they improved to 2-0 on the season.

"This was a hard-fought, local rival game," said Yale head coach Pam Stuper. "I don't think we played our best hockey, but I'm proud of the team for coming up with a win."

The physical tone for the game was set early on, as junior forward/midfielder Chelsey Locarno took an inadvertent stick to the face on a Quinnipiac player's follow-through two minutes in. Locarno was down on the turf for several scary moments, but she eventually got up and had her wound patched up on the sideline. The rest of the game saw several other close encounters, including a pair of yellow cards for Quinnipiac.

Senior goalkeeper Katie Bolling made a pair of big plays in the first eight minutes, charging out to kick the ball away with the Bobcats driving and then making a kick save on a corner shot by Quinnipiac's Kimberly Cunniff.

The lone goal of the first half was a pretty one by the Bulldogs, as sophomore forward/midfielder Mary Beth Barham drove along the baseline and fired a crossing pass that freshman forward Erica Borgo redirected in at 15:46. It was the third goal of the weekend for the impressive rookie.

"It was great to see Erica lead us off with a goal," Stuper said. "It was key for us, to get ahead early."

Bobcat goalie Amanda DeLouise kept the Yale lead from growing with a pair of nice saves in the final six minutes of the first half. First she kicked away an attempt by junior forward Mia Rosati, who came in all alone after taking a long pass from junior back Erin Carter. DeLouise also dove to block a blast from junior midfielder/back Taylor Sankovich off a corner.

The Bulldogs had a pair of great chances at goals 10 minutes into the second, but one shot hit the post and another apparent goal was waved off. Yale kept up the attack, and after a corner at 52:37 senior forward Johna Paolino redirected a pass from Rosati to make it 2-0 Yale.

Paolino's goal wound up being the start of a back-and-forth end of the game. Quinnipiac pulled within 2-1 with a penalty corner goal by Katie Van Nostrand at 53:55.  The Bulldogs went back up by two less than eight minutes later, with sophomore forward Maddy Sharp scoring off an assist by junior midfielder Dinah Landshut. Less than a minute later the Bobcats scored on another penalty corner (Van Nostrand again) to get within 3-2.

Barham picked up an important goal with less than seven minutes to play while colliding with DeLouise as both players battled for a pass from junior forward/midfielder Kirsten Krebs.

"Kirsten came off the bench and generated some good offense for us in the second half," Stuper said.

Barham's goal made it 4-2 Yale, and the breathing room became even more important when Amanda Danziger came in on a breakaway with 11 seconds left and scored for Quinnipiac. The Bulldogs controlled the ball after that to run out the final seconds on the 4-3 win.

Nicole Lewis, who came on in relief of DeLouise (10 saves) after Barham's goal, finished with two saves.

The end of the first weekend of the season helped answer many of the questions Yale faced heading into 2010, with two of the team's top scorers from last year's squad lost to graduation. Even without all-time points leader Ashley McCauley '10 and single-season assists leader Katie Cantore '10, the Bulldogs scored just as many goals against Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac (nine) as they did last year against those same two teams. And just as many players (nine) were involved in the scoring.

Rosati and Landshut, two of Yale's veterans, were keys to the attack on Sunday.

"Mia played an outstanding game," said Stuper. "Dinah led well in the midfield, and helped keep us composed."

Yale returns to action Saturday, Sept. 11 vs. Colgate at Johnson Field.

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