NEW HAVEN, Conn. – This weekend the Yale field hockey team hits the road to New York for the second time this season. After splitting a pair of games at Wagner and Hofstra to open the year, this trip takes the Bulldogs to Colgate Friday (6:00 p.m.,
ESPN+,
Live Stats) and UAlbany Sunday (1:00 p.m.,
AE.tv,
Live Stats).
LAST GAME
Yale (3-1, 0-0 Ivy League) finished off a weekend sweep with a
2-1 win vs. Drexel last Sunday. Junior goalkeeper
Luanna Summer (St. Louis, Mo.) made a career-high 14 saves and helped Yale hold the Dragons scoreless on 18 penalty corners. First year forward
Poppy Beales (King's Lynn, England) scored her first career goal and sophomore forward
Ellie Barlow (Dunmow, England) scored her second goal of the season.
D IS KEY
Yale leads the Ivy League and is 20th in the nation in goals-against average (1.25). Junior goalkeeper
Luanna Summer (St. Louis, Mo.) leads the league in GAA (1.25) and is third in the league in save percentage (.783, 16th nationally).
ROAD WARRIORS
Six of Yale's first eight games this season are road games. The Bulldogs play in three different states in that span – four games in New York, three in Connecticut (two home games, one road game) and one in Rhode Island.
RETURNING ALL-IVY
Yale returns 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.
YALE'S NEW LEADERS
Melissa Gonzalez was
hired as Yale's Caroline Ruth Thompson '02 Head Coach of Field Hockey this past January. A two-time Olympian, Gonzalez helped Wake Forest reach the NCAA semifinals as an assistant coach. She spent four seasons on the coaching staff at Wake. Throughout her time with the Demon Deacons, they were ranked in the top 25 of the NFHCA poll, reaching a high of No. 11 in the 2021 preseason poll. Prior to her time at Wake Forest Gonzalez excelled for Team USA, competing in the Olympics in 2012 (London) and 2016 (Rio de Janeiro). She made her U.S. National Team debut in 2010 and helped Team USA earn gold medals at the 2011 and 2015 Pan American Games. Gonzalez starred collegiately for UConn. During her senior year in 2010, she was a first team All-American, Mideast Region Player of the Year, Big East Defensive Player of the Year and a finalist for the Honda Sports Award. At Yale she has rounded out her staff with the hirings of
Kerry Kiddoo and
Jordan Page as assistant coaches.
50 YEARS OF VARSITY FIELD HOCKEY
Yale celebrated 50 years of varsity field hockey the weekend of Sept. 9, with alums invited back for a series of special events and ceremonies. At each game, alums were recognized in a special halftime ceremony.
50 YEARS OF WOMEN'S VARSITY ATHLETICS AT YALE
In October, Yale will have two home field hockey games on the weekend that Yale Athletics celebrates 50 years of women's varsity athletics.
That celebration takes place Oct. 14-16.
SCOUTING COLGATE
Colgate (2-4, 0-0 Patriot League) has been held to one goal in three straight games, all losses. That included a 2-1 loss to Yale's Ivy League rival, Cornell. Yale beat the Raiders 2-0 last year on goals by
Iliana Cabral '21 and senior midfielder
Alissa Wong (West Vancouver, B.C.).
SCOUTING UALBANY
UAlbany (4-2, 0-0 America East) has held each of its last three opponents to one goal, winning all three games. The Great Danes' only losses this season are to nationally ranked opponents, No. 11 Penn State (6-2 on Sept. 3) and No. 22 Ohio State (3-0 on Aug. 28).
