NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale field hockey team heads to Cornell to conclude the season Saturday (
ESPN+,
International Stream,
Live Stats). A win would give the Bulldogs double-digit wins for the first time since the 2018 season.
LAST GAME
Yale (9-7, 3-3 Ivy League) rallied for a 2-1 win at Dartmouth last Saturday. Sophomore forward
Lily Ramsey (Summit, N.J.) scored a pair of goals in the third quarter to erase a 1-0 halftime deficit. The Bulldogs outshot the Big Green 13-8 and had a 5-2 penalty corner advantage.
CLOSE CALLS
Yale has won three straight one-goal games. Prior to that the Bulldogs had lost two straight one-goal games. For the season Yale is 9-4 in one-goal games.
ROAD WARRIORS
A win on Saturday would give Yale a 5-4 record in road games this season. The last time Yale had a winning record on the road was the 2011 Ivy League Championship season, when the Bulldogs went 4-3 on the road.
ELITE EIGHT
Eight Bulldogs have started all 16 games this season:
- 4 seniors (midfielder Théodora Dillman (Lancaster, Pa.), back Laine Garber (Downingtown, Pa.), back Katie Pieterse (Ridgefield, Conn.), midfielder Alissa Wong (West Vancouver, B.C.))
- 1 junior (goalkeeper Luanna Summer (St. Louis, Mo.))
- 3 sophomores (forward Ellie Barlow (Dunmow, Essex, England), back Keely Comizio (New Vernon, N.J.), forward Julia Freedman (Greenwich, Conn.))
EVENING IT UP
Yale has taken and allowed 186 shots this season. The Bulldogs have outshot their opponents 65-45 over the last four games after being outshot 141-121 in the first 12 games.
CORNER EFFECT
Yale is 6-2 this season when it draws more penalty corners than its opponent, 2-4 when its opponent draws more penalty corners, and 1-1 when corners are even.
NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP
The sophomore class accounts for nearly half of Yale's goals this season (11 of 24). Here is the breakdown of Yale's scoring by class:
- Sophomores 11
- Seniors 7
- First Years 4
- Juniors 2
RANKED OPPONENTS
Yale's win vs. then-No. 24 Penn on Oct. 22 marked the Bulldogs' first win vs. a ranked opponent since beating then-No. 23 UMass 1-0 on Oct. 22, 2017.
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
Yale's roster has players from five different countries:
- 17 USA
- 4 England
- 2 Canada
- 1 Germany
- 1 South Africa
NOT BAD FOR STARTERS
In her first season as Yale's Caroline Ruth Thompson '02 Head Coach of Field Hockey,
Melissa Gonzalez has more wins than all but one of Yale's previous head coaches had in their first season. Her .563 winning percentage is third-best. Here are all Yale's coaches, ranked by wins in their first season:
1976 Richard Kentwell 10-4-2 (.688)
2022 Melissa Gonzalez 9-7-0 (.563)
1997 Marisa Didio 8-9-0 (.471)
1980 Robin Cash 6-3-5 (.607)
2005 Pam Stuper 6-11-0 (.353)
1984 Diane Moyer 5-7-2 (.429)
1989 Carla Hesler 4-10-1 (.300)
1972 Barbara Bowditch 3-5-0 (.375)
2000 Ainslee Lamb 3-14-0 (.176)
RAMSEY ON A ROLL
Sophomore forward
Lily Ramsey (Summit, N.J.) brings a three-game goal-scoring streak into Saturday. She has four goals in the last three games after scoring two in the first 13. She has moved into a tie with senior midfielder
Théodora Dillman (Lancaster, Pa.) for the team lead in goals with six (tied for seventh in the Ivy League), and she is also tied (with sophomore forward
Ellie Barlow (Dunmow, Essex, England)) for the team lead in game-winning goals with three.
BARLOW ACHIEVES NEW HIGHS
With four goals and four assists for 12 points, sophomore forward
Ellie Barlow (Dunmow, Essex, England) has doubled her point total from last season (3-0-6) while also improving her goal and assist totals. She has done so despite the fact that she has taken two fewer shots this year (18 this year; 20 last year). She also has three game-winning goals this season.
DILLMAN AMONG IVY LEADERS
Senior midfielder
Théodora Dillman (Lancaster, Pa.) is tied for seventh in the Ivy League with six goals. She is a three-time All-Ivy honoree, having earned second team All-Ivy League twice and honorable mention All-Ivy League once. Last season she was fifth in the league in points (24, a career high) and tied for fifth in goals (nine, a career high).
SCOUTING No. 25 CORNELL
No. 25 Cornell (9-7, 3-3 Ivy League) has won three of its last four games and broke into the national rankings late last month. The Big Red has allowed just eight goals in six Ivy League games, ranking second in the league in that category (Princeton has allowed only five goals in league games).
