NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A shorthanded Yale men's soccer team put forth a strong effort Tuesday night at Reese Stadium. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, it was one moment from New Hampshire that was the difference. Yannick Bright drilled a free kick from 25 yards into the top corner to lift the Wildcats to a 1-0 victory on a chilly night.
Yale was without its two leading scorers –
Paolo Carroll and
Kahveh Zahiroleslam – but still managed to pepper UNH goalkeeper Jessem Koleilat with 12 shots, including 11 in the second half. Koleilat, though, was up to the challenge. His best stop was his final one when he denied a Yale penalty kick with less than four minutes remaining.
The Bulldogs also were missing midfielder
Jules Oberg and top defender
Jeremy Haddock.
After a scoreless first half that saw the Wildcats hold an 8-1 advantage in shots, it was the Bulldogs who were the aggressors over the final 45 minutes. Yale outshot UNH 11-2 and narrowly missed scoring on a number of occasions.
Elian Haddock finished with four saves for Yale, all of which came in the first half.
"This was a really good performance against a top 25 caliber team and I am really proud of the group,' said
Kylie Stannard, the 5K Corral Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "We were missing several key starters tonight and we had a lot of younger guys step up and have excellent performances. UNH had the better of the first half, but we still did well to frustrate them and work our way into the game with a new lineup. The second half was possibly our best, and most complete, second half all season. We dominated the play and the dangerous chances and were simply very unfortunate not to score."
The Bulldogs and Wildcats have been two of the most successful programs in New England in recent years. They were playing for the second straight season. Last year in Durham, Yale earned a 1-1 draw with UNH, which was ranked third in the nation at the time and went on to finish with a 17-2-2 record, including a victory over North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats have now won eight straight games this fall and appear poised to make another NCAA Tournament run.
Next up for Yale is a game with Harvard on Saturday at Reese. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
