Villa, Nolan Score for Yale

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale field hockey team was less than 35 minutes away from a major upset Sunday afternoon at Johnson Field, leading No. 13 Albany 1-0. The Bulldogs had withstood a 13-shot barrage by the Great Danes in the first half, taking the lead midway through the half on a penalty corner goal by junior back Noelle Villa. But Albany, which brought an eight-game winning streak into Sunday, was not to be denied. The Great Danes scored four times on penalty corners in a span of 27 minutes during the second half, pulling out a 4-2 win over the upstart Bulldogs.

"This was the best performance we have had all-around, from everyone, so far this season," said Pam Stuper, Yale's Caroline Ruth Thompson '02 Head Coach of Field Hockey. "It was great to get on the scoreboard early after holding them off. Being up 1-0 at halftime is something to be proud of against a team like this."

The Bulldogs had that lead in large part thanks to senior goalkeeper Heather Schlesier, who made seven saves in the first half and 13 for the game -- her sixth double-digit save game of the season, and third in the last four games. She was one of four seniors that Yale honored before the game as part of Senior Day, including forward Jessie Accurso, back Megan Kirkham and forward Grace McInerney.

"All four seniors contributed quite a bit today," said Stuper. "Grace drew a corner early, and Heather made some brilliant saves. Megan played solidly in the backfield, as she has done all year. And our second goal was a product of Jessie's hard work and determination in drawing a corner."

McInerney helped draw Yale's first penalty corner of the day, 14 minutes in, but Albany goalkeeper Maxi Primus was able to make a save on a shot by sophomore midfielder Kelsey Nolan. Two minutes later, though, the Yale corner unit capitalized on its next opportunity. Kirkham inserted to freshman back Kiwi Comizio, who stopped the ball and allowed Villa to tee up a hard shot that beat Primus for a 1-0 lead at 16:46.

"That goal gave us energy," said Stuper. "It gave us a sense of 'We can do this; we're in this', and was a confidence booster."

Albany (15-2, 4-0 America East) did not go quietly for the rest of the half, however. In the final 11 minutes of the first the Great Danes drew five penalty corners, but a pair of saves by Schlesier kept them from scoring. She also made a nice kick save on a blast from the field by forward Pahila Arnold.

But the Great Danes got a pair of corners in the first two minutes of the second, and converted on the second one to tie the game. Midfielder Paula Heuser scored on a straight shot for her 22nd goal of the year, giving her a school single-season record 51 points for the year.

Schlesier made a save on Heuser on Albany's next corner, but with 17:25 left in the game the Great Danes scored off a corner again -- this time by having Heuser pass to midfielder Fiori Van Rijswijk for the tally.

"What makes Albany great on the penalty corner is they have a fantastic straight shot," said Stuper. "When a team establishes that, and then can develop plays from there, they make themselves very dangerous."

Heuser, who led the nation in points per game entering the week, scored again on straight shots off penalty corners at 58:14 and 63:00 to give the Great Danes a commanding 4-1 lead. Midfielder Laura Page, who assisted on three of Albany's four goals, wound up with the school single-season assists record (ending the day with 21).

But with Albany starting to warm up its backup goalkeeper, Yale (2-13, 0-5 Ivy League) crept closer with a penalty corner goal of its own. Nolan knocked one in, assisted by Kirkham and junior midfielder Nicole Wells, to get Yale within two with six minutes to play.

Nolan nearly made it a 4-3 game with a minute to play, but her low hard shot through traffic from just inside the circle whistled just wide of the net. Albany finished off its ninth win in a row, but Yale was one of only four teams all season to score more than one goal against the Great Danes.

"That's the character of our team and the program," said Stuper. "We have always been a group that will never give up. If we play like we did today in each of our remaining games, we can be proud."

Yale hosts Columbia next Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

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