NEW YORK – A critical Ivy League game at Columbia Friday afternoon saw the No. 17 Yale field hockey team pull away late to earn a 4-1 win over the Lions. Sophomore midfielder
Victoria Collee led Yale with two goals – the first and the last of the game for the Bulldogs. Yale enjoyed an 18-2 advantage in shots, but eight saves by Columbia goalkeeper Margot Houle kept her team within striking distance until the Bulldogs scored twice in the final 12 minutes.
Yale is now 8-2 overall (2-2 Ivy League), while Columbia falls to 5-5 (1-3 Ivy League).
Summary
- Yale had the best scoring chance in the early going, but Columbia goalkeeper Margot Houle was able to make the save on shot by senior forward/midfielder Lauren Venter on a breakaway at 4:21.
- Yale went ahead 1-0 at 10:47 when sophomore midfielder Victoria Collee gathered in a pass from sophomore forward/midfielder Chiara Picciafuoco and drove left. When Houle came out to challenge her, Collee backhanded in her sixth goal of the season.
- Yale held Columbia without a corner until the 27:14 mark of the second quarter. When the Lions finally got one, they converted it into their first shot – and a goal by Delfi Gonzalez Lobo on a deflection.
- Yale nearly went ahead 2-1 on a corner midway through the third, but the shot by junior back/midfielder Hettie Whittington went just wide.
- The Bulldogs converted on their next corner, with Venter sticking in the rebound of a shot by Picciafuoco.
- Senior forward Poppy Beales added an insurance goal at 48:21 in the fourth off an assist by first-year forward/midfielder Ella Ou.
- Collee scored again at 55:53 off an assist by sophomore forward/back/midfielder Ymre Massée to make the final 4-1.
Notes
- Yale outshot Columbia 6-1 in the first half and 12-1 in the second half.
- The Bulldogs held Columbia to a season-low two shots; no other team had held the Lions to fewer than four.
- Yale had a 7-1 edge in corners.
- This was Collee's second multi-goal game of the year. She had a hat trick in the 7-0 win at Colgate Sept. 28. With seven goals for the season, she has already surpassed her total from last year (four).
- Prior to Friday, six of the last seven games between these two teams had been decided by one goal. Yale was 3-3 in those games, and had a two-goal win (4-2) in 2021.
- With the win, Yale moves to within a half-game of the two teams who are tied for third in the Ivy League standings – Cornell and No. 8 Princeton are both 2-1. No. 4 Harvard is 3-0 and Brown is 3-1.
Around the Ivy League
- Brown 4, Penn 1
- No. 4 Harvard at Cornell (Saturday)
- No. 8 Princeton at Dartmouth (Saturday)
Up Next
- Yale visits UConn Sunday at 1:00 p.m.