Schlesier Makes 12 Saves

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – After having its season opener Saturday vs. Sacred Heart suspended due to lightning, the Yale field hockey team finally got the chance to take to the pitch on Sunday afternoon at Johnson Field. But Hofstra -- playing its fourth game of the year and having totaled 10 goals in its last two games -- played spoiler and edged the Bulldogs 2-1 thanks to two penalty corner goals. Senior goalkeeper Heather Schlesier made 12 saves and sophomore midfielder Kelsey Nolan scored for Yale.

Nolan proved to be a bright spot as she returned to action for the first time since an injury cost her the final 13 games of the 2013 season. She led Yale in shots (six) and shots on goal (three). She was also one of six players with less than five games of varsity experience to see time for the Bulldogs on Sunday. Three of Yale's starters were freshmen -- back/midfielder Kiwi Comizio, midfielder/forward Katie Smith and midfielder/forward Lily Smith -- and two of Yale's four subs were freshmen (forward Catherine Kurtin and back Tess Thompson).

"There were a lot of good takeaways from today's game, especially with such a relatively young team," said Pam Stuper, Yale's Caroline Ruth Thompson '02 Head Coach of Field Hockey. "We came out with good intensity and stayed with the game plan. This was Hofstra's fourth game, and our first, and we were coming off that on-again, off-again attempt to play vs. Sacred Heart yesterday. Plus there's always that extra sense of excitement and anxiety when you play the season opener."

Hofstra (3-1, 0-0 CAA) outshot the Bulldogs 13-8 in the first half, but Schlesier made it clear early on that scoring would be difficult. Her diving kick save on forward Jonel Boileau four minutes into the game was part of the reason why the Pride went scoreless for more than 25 minutes at the start.

Midfielder Charlotte Loehr finally put Hofstra on the scoreboard at the 25:40 mark on a penalty corner. Shortly after that the Bulldogs had one of their best offensive series of the game, earning five penalty corners in a span of two minutes late in the half. But Hofstra keeper Carys Swan made three saves, and defender Holly Andrews made a defensive save, to keep Yale scoreless.

Schlesier added one more highlight with two minutes to go before halftime. Hofstra was awarded a penalty stroke when the ball hit a Yale player's body behind the goal line, but Schlesier got her left leg out to deny the stroke by midfielder Colby Hussong and keep the score 1-0 heading into the break.

The Pride extended its lead to 2-0 with another penalty corner goal at 51:19, as Boileau redirected the ball in from defender Simca Schoen.

Yale's penalty corner unit then responded with a series that led to a Bulldog goal. Off the corner, Swan made saves on shots by junior back Noelle Villa and Katie Smith. But when a Hofstra player stopped a follow-up shot by the Bulldogs with her body behind the goal line, Nolan took the penalty stroke and fired it past Swan to pull Yale within a goal with 12:28 left on the clock.

After a timeout by Yale (0-1, 0-0 Ivy League) with 9:26 to play, Hofstra was able to control play for much of the final minutes -- including three penalty corners for the Pride, with two ending in saves by Schlesier. The Bulldogs were able to get off one final shot, but Swan denied the attempt by junior forward Danee Fitzgerald to deflect in a long pass from Villa with less than a minute to go. This wound up being the third one-goal loss to Hofstra in a row for Yale.

"This was obviously not the result we were looking for, but we are capable of scoring more," said Stuper. "Heather made some great saves, and [senior back] Megan Kirkham had an outstanding game. She made some key tackles and distributed the ball well."

Yale will conclude its game vs. Sacred Heart at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Johnson Field. The game was suspended with 33:12 left in the first half and the score 0-0.

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