First Career Goal for Toffoloni

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A pair of quick goals by Bryant midway through the first half tested the Yale field hockey team's mettle on Friday night at Johnson Field -- and the Bulldogs responded in fine fashion. Trailing 2-0 less than 20 minutes in, Yale reeled off the game's final three goals to come away with a 3-2 win. Sophomore forward/midfielder Carol Middough scored twice, and freshman forward/midfielder Evagelia Toffoloni scored her first career goal.

"To be down two goals and come back to score three unanswered goals to win showed a lot of strength and belief in what we can do when we play the hockey we're capable of," said Pam Stuper, Yale's Caroline Ruth Thompson '02 Head Coach of Field Hockey.

Junior goalkeeper Emilie Katz (five saves) enjoyed another solid game, but there was not much she could do to stop Bryant's two goals -- which came in a span of 75 seconds. Midfielder Victoria Danby sent one high over Katz' head at the 16:10 mark, and midfielder Emily Perryman scored right after that for a 2-0 lead.

Yale (2-2, 0-0 Ivy League) had the firepower to come back, though, and it was no surprise that it was Middough who started the rally. She tucked one inside the far post at 20:32 for her fourth goal of the year, bringing the Bulldogs within one.

To that point Middough had accounted for 100% of Yale's goals for the season. The first non-Middough goal came later in the half. Toffoloni scored off a nice feed from freshman midfielder/back Marissa Medici at 29:34, sending the game into halftime tied 2-2.

"Eva is starting to use space, and her speed, effectively," said Stuper. "Marissa had an outstanding game, defensively and offensively. She distributed the ball well, and broke up some opportunities for Bryant."

Katz made one of her biggest saves with less than 30 minutes to play, diving across the mouth of the goal to stop a follow-up shot on a corner for Bryant (1-6, 0-0 MAAC). Thirteen minutes later, Medici made a nifty block to deny another Bryant corner.

By then Middough had put Yale up 3-2, scoring at 51:22 for her fifth goal of the year; that's already one more than she had all of last season. In addition to her scoring, Middough also peppered Bryant with nine total shots -- more than half of Yale's total (16) for the game.

"Carol's first goal was beautiful," said Stuper. "Scoring goals is her greatest strength. This season she has been particularly effective in the press. She can really rattle the backfield, and she also creates opportunities for her teammates."

Katz came up with one more big save, denying Perryman with 3:30 remaining, and she also ranged far out of the cage to snuff out another scoring opportunity with less than a minute to play. She currently ranks second in the Ivy League in both save percentage (.813) and goals-against average (1.45).

Yale hosts No. 2 Syracuse on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

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