NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A late goal by freshman forward Brooke Reese provided a positive end to an otherwise tough game for the Yale field hockey team Sunday afternoon at Hofstra, as the Bulldogs fell 4-1 to the red-hot Pride. The win was Hofstra's sixth in a row.

The challenge for Yale (2-5, 0-1 Ivy League) was clear from the get-go on Sunday. The Bulldogs were coming off an emotionally and physically draining loss to archrival Harvard, 2-1 in a shootout Saturday. After playing 100 minutes of field hockey Saturday, Yale had to make a quick turnaround to hit the road and face a Pride team that had scored 16 goals in its last four games. Adding to the challenge, the injuries have continued to mount for the Bulldogs, and they had just three players available to come off the bench.

"After a disappointing loss, one where we physically gave everything we had, it was a quick turnaround to go on the road and play a team that had won five games in a row," said Pam Stuper, Yale's Caroline Ruth Thompson '02 Head Coach of Field Hockey. "On film I was quite impressed with Hofstra heading into the game. And we are probably starting the most youthful lineup [just one senior and one junior] I have ever had."

Injuries dictated that Yale's starting backfield featured three freshmen -- Jackie Kisa, Marissa Medici and Nikoletta Toffoloni -- along with sophomore Kiwi Comizio. That young group had to gel quickly, and after Hofstra (8-3, 0-0 CAA) scored twice in the first 12:14 things started to settle down for the Bulldogs. Pride forward Stella Schoen was able to tack on a goal at 31:45 to send Hofstra into the half up 3-0.

For nearly 31 minutes, the Bulldogs kept the Pride from scoring again. Junior goalkeeper Emilie Katz (14 saves) was once again superb, and Yale's defensive penalty corner unit also held tough against an onslaught of Pride corners (seven in each half). Comizio and Medici each had defensive saves.

Hofstra did extend its lead to 4-0 on a goal by forward Claudia Marin Samper at 62:26, but the Bulldogs kept plugging away. They got their first penalty corner with three minutes to play, and shortly after that they broke up the shutout. Comizio sent the ball towards the net, and amidst a crowd of players from both teams Reese reached her stick out and redirected the ball in at 67:36, giving her and her teammates something to smile about. Saturday also marked Reese's first career start.

"The kids that came off the bench or were in new starting roles did well for us today," said Stuper. "[Sophomore forward] Alyssa Weiss had played limited minutes until today, and she did a great job for us. Brooke Reese got her first start and turned it into her first career goal. All season long she's come out and done the extra work at practice, and it paid off. When you come out and practice tips like that enough, it becomes instinctual. [Assistant coach] Nikki [Parsley] has worked with the forwards on that."

Yale travels to Princeton next Friday at 6:00 p.m.

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