Yale

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The No. 19 Yale field hockey team opened the 2026 season with a decisive 3-0 win over Sacred Heart  on Friday night at Johnson Field. The Bulldogs outshot the Pioneers 19-6 en route to winning their season opener for the fourth year in a row.
 
Yale is now 1-0 overall (0-0 Ivy League), while Sacred Heart falls to 0-3 (0-0 NEC).
 
Summary

• Yale outshot SHU 6-0 in the first quarter, and got a pair of goals from junior forward/midfielder Chiara Picciafuoco. That included one in transition just one second before the end of the quarter.
• Sacred Heart had a 3-1 advantage in shots in the second quarter, but sophomore goalkeeper Amelie Schwarzkopf stopped the two Pioneers' shots that were on goal. The Bulldogs kept the 2-0 lead into halftime.
• Yale extended its lead to 3-0 on a penalty corner early in the third. First-year forward Maddie Leathem deflected in a feed from junior midfielder Kaitlyn Chang.
• Yale had an apparent goal by Leathem waved off early in the fourth quarter. The shot was ruled too high.
• Yale earned a penalty stroke with 8:30 left in the fourth quarter. SHU goalie Ruby Butler made a kick save to keep the Bulldogs from adding to their lead.
• SHU earned a penalty corner with 8:09 left. A kick save by Schwarzkopf on a shot by back Hailey Vogt kept the shutout intact.
• SHU earned another PC with 3.3 seconds left. After Leathem disrupted the play, a wide shot by the Pios sealed the shutout for the Bulldogs.

 
Notes

• Leathem's goal was the first of her career. She earned a start in her first career game, as did first-year back Emilia Puddicombe. 
• First-year back Sophie Buchowski, first-year midfielder/forward Angelina Che, sophomore back/forward Lore Laniyan and sophomore forward Liza Semenenko made their Yale debuts.
• Junior forward/midfielder/back Gigi Caldero made her first career start.
• This was Schwarzkopf's third career shutout. 
• Sacred Heart uses Johnson Field as its home field. The Pioneers had started the season with a pair of road games, so this was their first game at Johnson Field this season.

 
Around the Ivy League

• No. 9 UConn 3, Brown 0
• Columbia 2, UC Davis 1
• Cornell 5, La Salle 0
• No. 3 Harvard 5, UMass Lowell 1
• No. 10 North Carolina 7, Penn 0
• No. 2 Princeton 4, No. 18 Old Dominion 0

 
Up Next

• Yale hosts UAlbany Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

 
 

?? YALE GOAL! On a penalty corner, Maddie Leathem deflects it in for her first career goal, assisted by Kaitlyn Chang! #ThisIsYale

Watch ?? https://t.co/8kFi4ttVPS pic.twitter.com/dbh3xvYJZK

— Yale Field Hockey (@YaleFieldHockey) September 4, 2026