NEW HAVEN, Conn. – As Yale prepares to celebrate 50 years of women's varsity sports this fall, the Bulldogs' home field hockey facility has undergone a dramatic transformation that heralds a bright future for the program. Multi-million dollar improvements to Johnson Field – combined with the addition of Carol McPhillips Roberts '81 Field House in 2018 – place the Bulldogs' complex among the best in the country. A newly installed video scoreboard, named after Yale Field Hockey Association President Lorraine Pratte Lewis '78, is one of the few in the nation and spans more than 35 feet long. Another notable improvement is a new state-of-the-art turf field. The field now features six automatic irrigation heads, bringing the watering process from three hours down to minutes.
 
The naming of the Lorraine Pratte Lewis '78 Scoreboard honors Lewis' lifelong commitment to the program. Victoria M. "Vicky" Chun, Yale University's Thomas A. Beckett Director of Athletics, expressed a deep sense of appreciation for Lewis' wide-ranging impact.  
 
"We are so thankful to Lorraine for her leadership, generosity and commitment to Yale Field Hockey and Yale University," said Chun. "She is an incredible mentor, role model and ambassador for our program and department."
 
A goalie, Lewis was a three-year starter for the Bulldogs. She captained the team in her senior season, playing all 18 games and registering eight shutouts. She was selected as team MVP as a junior and senior and attended the U.S. Developmental Camp in the summers of 1977 and 1978. Her 27 wins in goal stand as the most wins by a Yale field hockey goalie in program history. In 1976 she played a new sport as a member of Yale's first varsity women's lacrosse team. Following her graduation in 1978, the Yale team participated in the first national collegiate championship tournament for women's lacrosse, finishing fifth in the country.  
 
Lewis continues to compete in the sport to this day, playing for the USA Masters. Originally from Worthington, Ohio, she now lives in Bethesda, Md., where she serves as Executive Director of the United Mine Workers of America Health & Retirement Funds. She also serves as a Trustee and Secretary for the USA Field Hockey Foundation's Board of Trustees. 
 
"The alumnae of Yale Field Hockey are a family to me. We are so proud of the young women who come to Yale to learn and play our beautiful sport," said Lewis. "I am grateful to my parents who made Yale possible for me way back in the 70s.  I also wish to thank Director of Athletics Vicky Chun and Deputy AD/COO Ann-Marie Guglieri for this honor to be a part of the finest field hockey complex in the nation."
 
Johnson Field opened as the home of Yale Field Hockey in 2001. In 2018, the addition of Carol McPhillips Roberts '81 Field House gave the Bulldogs a comprehensive space adjacent to the field with locker rooms, athletic medicine coaches' offices, meeting spaces and a second-story observation roof deck featuring a glass-walled event space. 
 
The Bulldogs' first regular season home game is Friday, Sept. 9 at 6:00 p.m. vs. Sacred Heart. Yale will celebrate 50 years of varsity field hockey that weekend, which also includes a home game on Sunday, Sept. 11 at 1:00 p.m. vs. Drexel. This is Yale's first season with Melissa Gonzalez as the team's Caroline Ruth Thompson '02 Head Coach of Field Hockey.