NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The first 67 minutes of Saturday's game with Cornell was full of frustration for the Yale women's soccer team. The Bulldogs were dominating play but couldn't find a goal.
Aerial Chavarin changed that in a hurry. She took a feed from
Lydia Shaw, fought her way through the defense and slipped a shot inside the near post to account for the only goal of the game in a 1-0 victory on a gorgeous Alumni Day at Reese Stadium.
The 1-0 final score was wildly deceiving. Yale outshot the Big Red 22-2 and had a 13-1 edge in corner kicks. Cornell spent very little time in Yale's half of the field.
"Soccer can be a very frustrating sport at times because you can do a lot right and not be rewarded," said
Brendan Faherty, The Loring Family Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "Full credit to our student-athletes for staying the course, continuing to play up to their level, and because of that we were able to get the goal we needed to secure a very important Ivy League win."
Yale (10-3 overall) improved to 3-1 in Ivy play. The Bulldogs have won three straight games and eight of their last nine.
It was a particularly frustrating first half for Yale, which had a 10-0 advantage in shots. Two of those shots banged off the post.
The Bulldogs, though, persevered and kept the pressure on, leading to Chavarin's goal.
"Cornell is a tough team to break down, but I thought our movement of the ball in the second half was much better, which gave our group more confidence as the half went on," Faherty said. "There are a lot of positives to take away from this game, but the best part is our group did not panic when we weren't finishing our chances. I truly believe that mentality will help us as we head into the last few games of the season."
There was an anxious moment at the end for the Bulldogs. The Big Red was awarded a free kick just outside the box as the final seconds were counting down. Goalkeeper
Alyssa Fagel, though, stopped Evanthia Spyredes' shot to seal the win, Yale's fifth shutout of the season.
After playing four straight games at home, the Bulldogs are on the road next weekend, traveling to Penn. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m.
