Box Score Alozie Scores Game-Winner
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – There have been a lot of memorable moments for the Yale women's soccer team in 2017. Saturday's Senior Day win over Brown will certainly qualify as one of the highlights. Michelle Alozie snapped a scoreless tie with a goal with 9:06 left in the second half as the Bulldogs blanked Brown 1-0 before a big crowd at Reese Stadium.
Yale finishes the season with an 11-4-2 overall record and a 4-2-1 Ivy mark, which was good for third place.
The 11 overall wins are the most by the Bulldogs since 2007. Yale also finished unbeaten (6-0-2) at home for the first time since 2005.
It was a fitting ending for seniors Mara Blumenstein, Meg Byfield, Hannah Coy, Maggie Furlong, Taylor Hobbs, Carlin Hudson, Kristina Kim, Sarah McCauley and Aria Pearlman Morales, who were honored prior to the game and played a key role in the team's success.
"This senior class deserved to go out like this," said head coach Rudy Meredith. "They've meant so much to the program's turnaround. They are one of the best senior classes I have coached."
Brown, which entered the day with a chance to earn a share of the Ivy title, hadn't allowed a goal in its three previous games. The Bears kept the Bulldogs off the board for 80 minutes before Alozie struck.
The winning play started when goalkeeper Alyssa Fagel sent a punt toward midfield. McCauley headed it forward to Ciara Ostrander, who quickly passed it ahead to Alozie. Alozie took a few dribbles and fired a shot inside the far post from the top of the box. It was her team-leading ninth goal of the season.
"Michelle is a [candidate] for [Ivy] player of the year," Meredith said. "She's really stepped up her game this year. Our opponents are always talking about marking No. 9. She causes problems."
Yale also got another stellar effort from its defense, anchored by Hudson, the team captain, who played all 90 minutes in her final game.
The Bulldogs posted their second straight shutout and fourth in Ivy play, their most since 2014.
Fagel was forced to make only three saves, as Yale limited Brown to very few high-quality scoring changes.
Twenty-four different players saw action to contribute to the victory.
"We had a lot of substitutions so we may have been fresher," Meredith said.
The Bears finished with a 15-11 edge in shots.
Report filed by Tim Bennett (timothy.bennett@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity
