PRINCETON, N.J. – For the second time in as many trips, the Yale field hockey team pushed No. 12 Princeton to the limit at Bedford Field Friday night. But just as they did two years ago, the Tigers managed to overcome a standout effort by the Bulldogs and win by a goal. Striker Ali McCarthy's tally on a penalty corner 6:47 into overtime gave Princeton a 4-3 win, spoiling a 16 save effort by Yale junior goalkeeper
Sydney Terroso.
Facing a ranked opponent for the fourth time in six games, Yale (2-6, 0-2 Ivy League) got the start it needed Friday. Junior forward
Anissa Abboud, making her first start of the season, corralled a long pass from sophomore midfielder
Theodora Dillman that bounced between a pair of Princeton players. Abboud then calmly beat Tigers goalie Grace Baylis to make it 1-0 at 2:16.
"Very proud of Anissa," said
Pam Stuper, Yale's Caroline Ruth Thompson '02 Head Coach of Field Hockey. "There's a lot of pressure in that situation, one-on-one. She kept it simple, got the goalie moving and pushed it into the corner."
Less than three minutes later Yale's corner unit extended the lead. Off the insertion by junior forward/midfielder
Imogen Davies, sophomore midfielder
Alissa Wong stopped the ball for a shot by junior forward/midfielder
Olivia Levieux that deflected in off a Princeton stick, putting Yale up 2-0.
"Those three minutes proved that it wasn't just about believing we could score, it was about showing we could score," said Stuper.
Terroso made things as difficult as possible for Princeton (5-4, 2-0 Ivy League), including a nice pad save on a shot by McCarthy with 8:30 to play in the first and a denial of a penalty stroke six minutes into the second. But the Tigers -- who wound up with 17 penalty corners for the game -- eventually broke through. A deflection by back Claire Donovan on a corner at 25:26 made the score 2-1 heading into halftime. Princeton then scored twice in the third to take a 3-2 lead.
But the Bulldogs were not done yet either. During a Yale corner late in the fourth, the Tigers blocked the initial shot by Levieux and also stopped Davies' attempt at a follow-up. But the ball popped loose to sophomore forward/midfielder
Kelly Dolan, who knocked in her first goal of the year and tied the score 3-3 with 6:15 to play.
The Bulldogs thus had some momentum heading into overtime, and kept it by denying an early Tiger corner. Terroso then added one more highlight, kicking away a shot by All-American midfielder Julianna Tornetta with just over four minutes left. Shortly after that, though, the Tigers earned the corner that led to McCarthy's game-winner.
Combined with 2017's frustrating 3-2 loss, Friday's game nonetheless serves as a sign that the Bulldogs can compete with the Tigers, who have won 22 Ivy League championships in the last 25 years.
"We battled them on the road two years ago and had to play strong defense warding off all those shots and corners. Then we had to do it again today. It's definitely a tribute to our grit," said Stuper.
Several Bulldogs stood out, starting with Terroso. This was the third time this season she has reached double-digit saves in a game.
"Syd was amazing, just absolutely outstanding," said Stuper. "
Alissa Wong and Theodora had brilliant games in the midfield for us, both defensively and on attack."
Yale returns to action Sunday at Drexel.
