Friday, 6:00 p.m. at Lehigh
Sunday, 12:00 p.m. at Drexel
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale field hockey team heads to Pennsylvania to start the 2024 season with a pair of non-league games this weekend. The Bulldogs visit Lehigh Friday (6:00 p.m.,
ESPN+,
Live Stats) and Drexel Sunday (12:00 p.m. (
FloSports,
Live Stats).
LAST TIME
Yale ended the
2023 season with three wins in the final four games to finish 7-9 overall. The Bulldogs went 3-4 in Ivy League play, finishing in fifth place and missing out on the Ivy League Tournament by one win.
CLOSE CALLS
Nine of Yale's final 10 games of the 2023 season were decided by one goal, including an overtime loss in the season finale that cost Yale a spot in the Ivy League Tournament. Overall the Bulldogs were 6-5 in one-goal games last season.
IRON BULLDOGS
Four current Bulldogs started all 16 games last season:
RETURNING FIREPOWER
Returnees this year accounted for 87 percent (20 of 23) of Yale's goals last season. Junior forward
Poppy Beales (King's Lynn, Norfolk, England) led the team in goals with nine.
RANKED OPPONENTS
Yale's schedule includes two games against teams currently ranked in the top 20 of the NFHCA National Coaches Poll:
- Oct. 4 at No. 8 Harvard
- Nov. 2 at No. 15 Princeton
The Bulldogs' win vs. then-No. 24 Penn on Oct. 22, 2022 marked the Bulldogs' first win vs. a ranked opponent since beating then-No. 23 UMass 1-0 on Oct. 22, 2017.
CORNER EFFECT
Yale was 5-1 last season when it drew more penalty corners than its opponent, 1-7 when its opponent drew more penalty corners, and 1-1 when corners were even.
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
Yale's roster includes players from six different countries:
- 10 USA
- 7 England
- 2 The Netherlands
- 1 Argentina
- 1 Lithuania
- 1 South Africa
SIX NAMED TO NFHCA WATCHLIST
Six members of the Yale field hockey team were named to the NFHCA Watchlist, announced Aug. 29. Yale's selections were:
The list is intended to showcase those field hockey student-athletes with the strongest potential for consideration to the current year's NFHCA All-Region and All-American teams.
SCOUTING LEHIGH
Lehigh (1-1, 0-0 Patriot League) bounced back with a 3-2 win vs. Wagner last time out after falling 5-1 at Monmouth in the season opener. Yale won the last meeting between these two teams,
5-2 on Oct. 21, 2018.
SCOUTING DREXEL
Drexel (1-1, 0-0 CAA), which plays at Villanova Friday, opened its season with a 2-1 win vs. Sacred Heart before falling 2-0 at No. 4 Maryland this past Sunday. Yale beat the Dragons two years ago in New Haven,
2-1 at Johnson Field on Sept. 11.
