NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The past, present and future of Yale Field Hockey will take center stage this weekend at Johnson Field, as the Bulldogs celebrate 50 years of varsity field hockey at Yale while also unveiling multiple improvements to their home facility. On their new state-of-the-art turf, the Bulldogs host Sacred Heart Friday (6:00 p.m.,
ESPN+,
International Stream,
Live Stats) and Drexel Sunday (1:00 p.m.,
ESPN+,
International Steam,
Live Stats).
LAST GAME
This past Sunday Yale (1-1, 0-0 Ivy League) earned its first win with
Melissa Gonzalez as the team's Caroline Ruth Thompson '02 Head Coach of Field Hockey, beating Hofstra 3-2. Sophomore forward
Lily Ramsey (Summit, N.J.) had a pair of goals and senior midfielder
Théodora Dillman (Lancaster, Pa.) scored one.
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 celebrates 50 years of varsity field hockey this weekend, with alums invited back for a series of special events and ceremonies. At each game this weekend, alums will be 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.
LORRAINE PRATTE LEWIS '78 SCOREBOARD PART OF FACILITY TRANSFORMATION
The Bulldogs' home 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.
SCOUTING SHU
Sacred Heart (0-3, 0-0 NEC), which also utilizes Johnson Field as its home field, is coming off a 3-2 loss to Georgetown in overtime. Yale has won six straight in the series vs. the Pioneers, including a
4-2 win last year.
SCOUTING DREXEL
Drexel (1-2, 0-0 CAA) is coming off its first win of the season – 2-1 vs. Appalachian State in a shootout. Yale
beat the Dragons 4-3 last year.
