Bulldogs Drop 1-0 Decision

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A late defensive lapse doomed the Yale women's soccer team in its Ivy League opener against Princeton at Reese Stadium. Tyler Lussi scored the only goal of the game with 5:57 left in the second half to lift the Tigers on an unseasonably warm afternoon at Reese Stadium.

The winning goal was set up by Vanessa Gregoire off a throw-in. Gregoire fed a ball forward to Lussi, who found herself all alone in the middle of the box and slipped a shot into the left side of the goal.

"We left one of their best offensive players wide open, and she made us pay," said Yale head coach Rudy Meredith.

It was one of a very few defensive miscues in the game for the Bulldogs, who had the better of the possession.

The struggles for Yale came more on the offensive end. The Bulldogs had a couple of good scoring chances but couldn't capitalize.

"We didn't put our shots on goal," Meredith said. "It's a problem we've had recently.

Yale had 14 shots, but only six were on goal. The Bulldogs also had nine corner kicks.

The game followed what has become a surprising trend in the series. The visiting team has now won the last eight games.  Yale hasn't beaten Princeton at Reese Stadium since 2006, and Princeton hasn't beat Yale in Princeton since 2003.

The Bulldogs, now 5-3 on the season, play at Harvard next Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m.

Report filed by Tim Bennett (timothy.bennett@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity