NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Second-half comebacks wound up being the theme for the Yale field hockey team this weekend, as the Bulldogs rallied past Drexel 4-3 on Sunday for their second straight come-from-behind win. Senior midfielder Imogen Davies, Yale's captain, got the game-winner with 9:11 to play.
 
Yale (4-3, 1-0 Ivy League) was coming off a hard-fought 2-1 win vs. Brown in the Ivy League opener Saturday, while Drexel (3-7, 0-0 CAA) had handled Fairfield 5-1 at home on Friday. The Dragons came out firing Sunday, scoring twice in the first 20 minutes. But the Bulldogs wound up with a 6-5 edge in shots for the half, giving them reason for optimism heading into the second.
 
"We said we needed to finish," said Pam Stuper, Yale's Caroline Ruth Thompson '02 Head Coach of Field Hockey. "We had 17 circle penetrations in the first half. We were creating opportunities, we just needed to be disciplined with our positioning and our shots."
 
Two players in particular stepped up immediately for Yale in the second half, as senior forward/midfielder Kelly Dolan scored off an assist from sophomore forward Lena  Ansari at 31:19 -- and Ansari then scored off a Dolan assist at 35:00 to tie the game 2-2.
 
"Those two are really good at capitalizing in front of the net when they're in position, and seeing space," said Stuper. "They both played ice hockey, and are good at bodying up on defenders."
 
Drexel answered back with a nifty goal from forward Shannon Tringola with just eight seconds left in the third quarter to re-take the lead. But the Bulldogs -- who had already suffered three one-goal losses in a span of four games before beating Brown Saturday -- were not to be denied. The penalty corner unit came up big in the fourth quarter, delivering the game-tying goal at 49:22 as Ansari deflected in a shot by sophomore forward Maddy Wong. Just over a minute later, that same unit came through again as Wong slid one towards the net and Davies poked it past Drexel keeper Megan Hadfield.
 
"Midge [Davies] had a terrific game today," said Stuper. "She generated attack on the right side and from different points of entry in the circle, and made things dangerous."
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Luanna Summer finished with four saves.
 
Yale resumes Ivy League play Friday at 5:00 p.m. at No. 17 Princeton.
 

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We take the lead! Captain Imogen Davies scores to put us up 4-3 late in the 4th. #ThisIsYale pic.twitter.com/dTv9k34fv2

— Yale Field Hockey (@YaleFieldHockey) September 26, 2021