NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- A new field, a new scoreboard and a new coaching staff are in place for the Yale field hockey team as the Bulldogs look forward to the 2022 season – one in which they will celebrate 50 years of field hockey at Yale. The Bulldogs open the campaign this weekend at Wagner (Friday, 3:00 p.m.,
NEC Front Row,
Live Stats) and at Hofstra (Sunday, 1:00 p.m.,
FloSports,
Live Stats).
Melissa Gonzalez, Yale's new Caroline Ruth Thompson '02 Head Coach of Field Hockey, joins the program at a memorable moment as a series of renovations have transformed Yale's home facility. The new state-of-the-art turf and
Lorraine Pratte Lewis '78 Scoreboard, installed this summer at Johnson Field, complement the recent addition of Carol McPhillips Roberts Field House to give Yale one of the best field hockey complexes in the country.
Gonzalez, a two-time Olympian who helped Wake Forest reach the NCAA semifinals as an assistant coach, brought in
Kerry Kiddoo and
Jordan Page as assistant coaches. The Bulldogs have a number of building blocks in place on the roster, including four All-Ivy League honorees from last season. Senior midfielder
Alissa Wong (West Vancouver, B.C.), Yale's captain, earned second team All-Ivy honors. Junior forward
Lena Ansari (Glenview, Ill.), senior midfielder
Théodora Dillman (Lancaster, Pa.) and junior goalkeeper
Luanna Summer (St. Louis, Mo.) were honorable mention All-Ivy.
Here is a look at the 2022 team, by position:
Forward
8 players (0 seniors, 3 juniors, 3 sophomores, 2 first years)
2 returning players who started 10 or more games last season (Barlow, As. Kim)
With no senior forwards, the Bulldogs are fortunate to have three junior forwards to lead the way.
Lena Ansari emerged as one of the team's most reliable scorers last season en route to earning honorable mention All-Ivy honors. She finished with 21 points.
Ashley Kim became a regular in the starting lineup (15 games played, 13 starts), contributing three goals and an assist.
Katie So – who, like Kim, could play forward or midfield – made her Yale debut and finished with eight games played.
The sophomore class adds greatly to Yale's depth at forward.
Ellie Barlow played in all 17 games, starting 16, and scored three goals.
Julia Freedman appeared in all 16 games and then
gained valuable experience earning a gold medal in the Maccabiah Games with the U.S. team this past summer.
Nicole Gotthardt, who could also play midfield, played in 13 games.
Lily Ramsey appeared in 16 games and displayed a knack for scoring big goals – two of her three were game-winners.
The first-year class includes a pair of Internationals in
Poppy Beales (King's Lynn, Norfolk, England) and
Lauren Venter (Knysna, Western Cape, South Africa), who could also play midfield. Beales was a U18 England trialist in 2021, and Venter was the top goal scorer for her school's first team three times.
Midfield
10 players (3 seniors, 2 juniors, 1 sophomore, 4 first years)
2 returning players who started 10 or more games last season (Dillman, A. Wong)
Yale's senior midfielders form the corps of an impressive group.
Théodora Dillman has earned All-Ivy League honors three times (second team twice, honorable mention once). Last year she was fifth in the league in points (24) and tied for fifth in the league in goals (nine). She established career highs in every offensive category, including six assists -- tied for second-most on the team.
April Kim, Ashley's sister, appeared in all 17 games and started one.
Alissa Wong earned second team All-Ivy honors while serving as a key part of the team's counter attack as well as its counter defense, along with being a part of both the attack and defense penalty corner units.
Junior
Rachel Brown emerged as a starter last season, appearing in all 17 games and starting 13. Classmate
Maddy Wong -- Alissa's sister -- also appeared in every game, earning three starts.
Julia Fortier, who can also play back, is the lone sophomore midfielder. She appeared in seven games as a rookie last year.
A versatile first-year midfield class comes from near and far. It includes
CC Wolf (Short Hills, N.J.) along with
Milly Crosby (High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England),
Janina Rothenberger (Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany) and
Maddy Zavalick (Newington, Conn.). Crosby could also play forward, while Rothenberger and Zavalick could play back.
Back
4 players (2 seniors, 0 juniors, 2 sophomores, 0 first years)
2 returning players who started 10 or more games last season (Comizio, Pieterse)
Yale will count on two seniors to provide leadership in the backfield.
Laine Garber has made dramatic progress in her last two seasons, appearing in all 34 games and starting six after appearing in two games as a first year.
Katie Pieterse has started all 17 games for two seasons in a row.
A pair of talented sophomores figure to make a big impact in the backfield.
Keely Comizio appeared in all 17 games, starting 12.
Colette Staadecker played in 12 games as a first year.
Goalkeeper
2 players (0 seniors, 1 junior, 1 sophomore, 0 first years)
1 returning player who started 10 or more games last season (Summer)
The Bulldogs have a reliable presence in goal: junior
Luanna Summer returns having earned honorable mention All-Ivy recognition last season. She ranked second in the league in saves (95) and third in save percentage (.748) and goals-against average (1.85).
Sophomore
Alexa Pitts got her feet wet with one appearance, part of a combined shutout with Summer.
Schedule Notes
- The 17-game slate starts Sept. 2 at Wagner.
- In addition to the seven Ivy League games -- starting Sept. 23 at Brown -- the Bulldogs have 10 non-league games.
- On the weekend of Sept. 9-11, the Bulldogs will celebrate 50 years of field hockey at Yale. The Bulldogs' games Oct. 14-16 will be part of a celebration of 50 years of women's varsity athletics at Yale.
- Senior Day at Johnson Field is Oct. 22 vs. Penn.
Links
