NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Yale's most complete performance of the young season came at a very opportune time.
Paolo Carroll and
Kahveh Zahiroleslam both scored, and the Bulldogs held a high-powered Boston College offense in check in an impressive 2-0 victory over the Eagles on a gorgeous night at Reese Stadium.
Yale (3-2) held BC without a shot for nearly 64 minutes. The Eagles came into the game averaging 17 shots but didn't get their first one until the 63:46 mark. BC finished with eight shots, but five came in the final six minutes after the Bulldogs had built their two-goal lead.
The game was a rematch of the 2019 first round NCAA Tournament game won by BC in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
"This is a great result for the program, and I'm really happy for the current guys, as well as the guys from the 2019 team that would have loved to be back for this one," said
Kylie Stannard, the 5K Corral Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "We challenged the guys to respond after a disappointing performance last week [4-0 loss at UConn] and they absolutely stepped up and we couldn't ask for much more. We needed to get back to being difficult to play against, and we absolutely did that tonight. I am especially happy with the shutout tonight and our guys did well to dig in for the last few minutes."
Goalkeeper
Elian Haddock was forced to make only one save, but it was a terrific diving stop of Kristofer Konradsson's free kick from just outside the box in the 88
th minute.
Sharp passing led to Yale's first goal at 35:22. Zahiroleslam fed
Sigfus Arnason, who sent a perfect cross to an open Carroll at the far post. It was Carroll's team-leading fourth goal of the season.
Yale prevented BC from generating any offense over the next 50 minutes. Carroll set up the Bulldogs' second goal when he stole a pass, dribbled toward goal and unselfishly found Zahiroleslam for the easy tap in at 82:02.
The Eagles (3-3-1) generated their only pressure of the game in the final minutes but couldn't get anything past Haddock.
"Not only did we defend as a group better, but we also were able to control and move the ball better than we have, while still being dangerous in attacking transition," Stannard said. "This is definitely still an area we can improve on but this was a positive step."
Yale has another challenge on Saturday, playing at Akron. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
