Yale needed the win over the Tigers to send them to the Ivy League tournament. On Friday night, they looked to secure the victory. 

Team Captain Ashley Kim ’24 told the News the team had perseverance through this season.

“This season was a true testament to our resilience,” she said. “We played top-ten teams, top-twenty and didn’t always get the results we wanted, but we fought every second of the way with heart and belief.”

The Friday night game proved to be a battle from the moment it began. Poppy Beales ’26 had two shots in the first period, followed by a Lauren Venter ’26 shot in the second period which was saved by Princeton’s goalie. Though both teams took swings, neither could hit until 50:43, when Princeton’s Talia Schenck scored. 

In the blink of an eye, the Bulldogs did what they had done many times before this season: they rallied back. Less than two minutes after the Princeton goal, Hettie Whittington ’27 took a Keely Comizio ’25 assist straight to the net. As the fourth period ended and the game rolled into overtime, both teams had a shot at the Ivy League Tournament in sight.

The Tigers came out strong in overtime and dominated the ball. Despite saving a penalty corner shot at 60:40, the ball got past goalkeeper Luanna Summer ’24 at 60:51 and Princeton emerged victorious.

Comizio told the News that despite the tough end, she is hopeful for next season.

“My hopes for next season are to continue to build the program and level of play like we have been doing the past two years,” she said. “We didn’t end up where we wanted to be this year, but we are really proud of the growth and the commitment we made. We are looking forward to next season as we continue to build and hopefully get the results we want.”

Though not the way they hoped it would end, the Bulldogs had a successful season. In conference, they went 3–4 with 2 wins in overtime. They extended their overall win streak against Dartmouth (6–9, 2–5 Ivy) to seven, and extended both win streaks against Columbia (3–13, 0–7 Ivy) and Brown (6–10, 1–6 Ivy) to six.

Head coach Melissa Gonzalez told the News of her pride for her team and their commitment to hard work.

“I’m proud of this team’s growth mindset and commitment to the process,” she said. “Each person on the team put in the work to improve themselves and the team. Regardless of the opponent, result, weather or situation they continually showed up every day and worked to better their best. It takes a lot of character and I can’t say enough good things about this group as hockey players and more importantly as people.”

Yale field hockey will lose five seniors graduating after this season, including Summer and Kim. Summer played every game this season in goal, and Kim concluded her captaincy with the team having started 15 of 16 games. 

Kim told the News that although she will not be with the team any longer, her expectations are still high.

“[I hope] they continue this journey with Coach Melissa to rebuild the Yale Field Hockey legacy and come out on top with an Ivy League title!” she said. “I have very big expectations as they’ve worked so hard and proven that they are true competitors of the sport.”

Katie So ’24, Maddy Wong ’24 and Julia Fortier ’24 also exit with the season. So played in 15 games this season, while Fortier added on to over 350 career minutes played. Wong leaves having assisted two overtime wins at Dartmouth and Richmond (7–11, 2–5 A10) this season alone. 

Gonzales also said she is looking forward to the team’s growth next season.

“I’m looking forward to the continued growth and development of the team,” she said to the News. “This team has welcomed every challenge they’ve been given. Our goals are the same: to control the controllable and get 1 percent better every day.”

The Bulldogs will continue to train after some time off and look to continue their improvement for next season. 

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The Bulldogs, coming off a win against Dartmouth (5–9, 1–5 Ivy), looked to extend their win streak against the Columbia Lions at the Columbia Field Hockey Stadium in New York City.

Alexa Pitts ’25 told the News the team had a lot of energy coming into the game on Friday.

“The sentiments going into our game were electric,” she said. “There was only one way that we were willing to leave the field Friday night and it was with a win.”

The Friday night game began in the rain with little action in the first half. Four different Bulldogs took shots, but to no avail. The Lions’ goalkeeper had six saves against the aggressive Blue and White.  Meanwhile, the Bulldogs fouled the Lions eighteen times, who returned the favor nineteen times.

The Bulldogs found success in the fourth period. With 4:22 left in regulation, Poppy Beales ’26 took the game-winning shot off a blocked penalty corner by Colette Staadecker ’25. This is Beales’ second consecutive game-winner, leading the team with nine goals this season. Columbia only had one shot on goal, which was saved by goalkeeper Luanna Summer ’24.

Pitts said that their efforts in practice allowed them to be successful on the field.

“We’ve put a lot of emphasis on practicing the way we play,” she said. “We work really hard in practice so it noticeably pays off when we get to a game. When it came to making adjustments mid-game, we really wanted to focus on keeping things simple and doing what had been working.”

The following Sunday, the Bulldogs headed home to Johnson Field to battle the Richmond Spiders.

Richmond jumped out early against the Blue and White in the second period, scoring two goals within a minute of each other at 15:22 and 16:13.  

Keely Comizio ’25 said that initially falling behind motivated them to compete.

“Getting scored on first forced us to find motivation to win the game, but we had trust in each other that we would get it done,” she said. “After that, we played with a lot more urgency and fire, allowing us to pull out the win.”

At 54:09, forward/midfielder Lauren Venter ’26 began the comeback with a penalty corner goal, followed shortly after by another penalty corner goal, this time from Hettie Whittington ’27. At the end of the fourth period, tied 2–2, the Bulldogs showed the resiliency they had proven in the past few games. 

Then, at 60:51, Beales took a Maddy Wong ‘24 assist and drove it off the corner and into the goal. This is her fourth game-winning shot of the season. Beales and Venter both led the team with 4 shots. 

This is the second time in three games that Beales has ended the game with a winning shot off an assist from Wong. Beales told the News that their relationship has allowed her to excel on the field.

“My relationship with Maddy Wong has been really on, especially in the last three games,” she said. “Her timing on the pass in the Richmond game was perfect to give me enough time to get the shot off.”

Beales added that the team is looking forward to playing against Princeton this Friday, Oct. 27. 

That game will determine who takes the final spot in the Ivy League tournament.

“The team is so excited for the game,” Beales told the News. “It is set up perfectly as the last game of the season and the winner-take-all for the final spot in the Ivy tournament. We are going to give it our all and hope that we get the win!”

In their final game of the regular season, the Bulldogs face the Princeton Tigers (6–8, 4–2 Ivy) for their senior game at home at Johnson Field. 

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After a loss against Cornell University (10–3, 4–1 Ivy) last Saturday, the Bulldogs looked to earn another win on the road to the Ivy League tournament. One spot remains in the tournament, alongside Harvard (10–3, 5–0 Ivy), Cornell and UPenn (6–7, 4–1 Ivy), which have already secured spots.

Ellie Barlow ’25 told the News that the team was driven by the prospect of extending its season.

“Going into the game we were all pretty motivated,” Barlow said. “We knew that to make the Ivy tournament we would have to win, so we all really wanted this win to keep our season going.”

The first period began quickly with shots by Emma Ramsey ’27 and Lily Ramsey ’25, 04:13 and 07:43 minutes into the game, respectively, but neither team found themselves able to score. 

The Big Green struck first during the second period with a shot and goal by Lucia Campano 22:27 minutes into the game.

Barlow said the team was confident enough not to worry about the opposing goal.

“The goal was a bit of a breakaway for them, so I think it was just having confidence that we were playing the better game and the goal would come for us,” she said.

The third period saw the Bulldogs’ response, which came as a Colette Staadecker ’25 goal, evening the score at 1–1. Staadecker’s second goal of the season was assisted by Keely Comizio ’25 and Barlow.

The game quieted from there, with both teams taking shots but failing to hit. The Bulldogs outshot Dartmouth 14 to 5, with 8 shots on goal, slowly adding pressure throughout the game. Almost every Bulldog on the field took at least one shot, with Poppy Beales ’26 taking the most with 6. 

Despite the pressure on net from both sides, the Big Green and the Blue and White pushed into overtime.

Lily Ramsey told the News that acknowledging mistakes and adapting to the opponent allowed them to succeed.

“After the first goal, we came together and reassured ourselves that there was still a lot of time left to play,” she said. “We acknowledged our mistakes but moved on from them quickly as we knew that we were capable of dominating the game if we just played strong and composed two-touch hockey. In the second half, we adjusted to Dartmouth’s play by being more aggressive on our press and having an intercepting mindset, which allowed us to play more on the front foot.”

Just two minutes into overtime, Beales scored on an assist from Maddy Wong ’24, sealing the win for the Bulldogs. 

The goal was Beales’ second overtime game-winner in just 10 days; she was also the hero of the team’s last game against Brown. Beales talked about the momentum of the team with the News.

“Going into overtime, it felt like the momentum was with us having played better in the second half and scoring to tie the game,” she said. “We knew what we had to do and [we] all stepped back out there ready to give it all to get the win.”

With three regular season games left, the Bulldogs head to New York next to face the Columbia Lions (3–10, 0–5 Ivy).

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In a tight match, the Blue and White fell to the Big Red for their last game of the season with a final score of 1–0. Cornell scored the lone goal of the game in the second half. After a hard-fought season, the Bulldogs finished sixth in the Ivy League. 

“Even though the game didn’t go our way, we had fun out there because it was the last time this team would play together,” Julia Freedman ’25 said. “Every one of us left it all out on the field, which is all you can ask for.” 

The beginning of the first period began with an aggressive push by the Bulldogs, but no goals were scored for either team in the first.  

Two minutes into the first period, Lily Ramsey ’25 attempted a wide shot. A minute later, Ellie Barlow ’25 took two back-to-back penalty corners. In the next two minutes, Barlow took three more penalty corners, while Theodora Dillman ’23 and Ashley Kim ’24 took a shot each. 

The Bulldogs outshot the Big Red in the first period with four shots to two. Cornell turned it around after the first period and ended up outshooting the Bulldogs for the rest of the game. The Big Red had 12 shots with five on net while the Bulldogs finished the game with seven shots, three on net. 

Bulldogs’ goalie Luanna Summer ’24 played in every game for the Blue and White this season. 

“What I’m most proud of regarding this season is the growth that was achieved throughout this season and the grit shown,” Summer wrote to the News. “Although the season had its ups and downs, everyone still showed up and fought during every game. We really built a great foundation for spring training and I’m excited to start work in the spring.”

Kim, Dillman and Freedman were the only Bulldogs to take a shot on net. Each attempted one shot on goal during the game against the Big Red, with Freedman’s attempt coming in the second period.  

While the Bulldogs fell to Cornell for their final game, their last two games against University of Pennsylvania (7–10, 4–3 Ivy) and Dartmouth College (3–14, 0–7 Ivy) were hard-fought wins. The Blue and White beat UPenn 3–2 in an overtime thriller and Dartmouth 2–1. 

“We learned how strong we are, especially when we work together and stick together,” Alexa Pitts ’25 said. “I think the sky is the limit with this group of girls, and we’re ready to put in the work in the off-season.”

After their week off, the Bulldogs will get right back into training to prepare for upcoming scrimmages and the 2023-24 season. 

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The game, hosted at Chase Field on Saturday, had a slow start, with no goals scored in the first period. The Big Green scored their first and only goal of the game 10 minutes into the second period, only for the Bulldogs to pull it back in the third.

“We demonstrated our ability to find a way and win despite conceding the first goal,” Coach Melissa Gonzalez said. “It’s great to see the team work together, be resilient, and execute the game plan.”

The third period upped the ante for the Bulldogs, as forward Lily Ramsey ’25 scored two goals.

Ramsey scored the first goal for the Bulldogs six minutes into the third off of an assist from Ashley Kim ’24 to tie the game. Six minutes later, Ramsey scored another goal to bring the Bulldogs ahead with a score of 2–1. This was Ramsey’s sixth goal of her sophomore season, with three of the six having been game winning goals. 

“My personal highlight of the weekend was seeing the forward line finally putting into play what we have been focusing on in practice and finishing on our opportunities in the circle,” Ramsey said. 

The fourth period of the game was scoreless and the Bulldogs won the game with a final score of 2–1.

Throughout the game, Theodora Dillman ’23 and Ramsey both attempted four shots, with one of Dillman’s shots on goal.

“Our defensive structure and ability to make tackles outside of the circle will be important for us,” Gonzalez wrote to the News. “Cornell has great attacking penalty corners and we have to do our best to protect our defensive circle and keep sustained pressure higher up the field. This will be a theme this week at practice as we approach our game against Cornell.”

The Bulldogs outshot Dartmouth on Saturday with 13 shots, seven of which were on net. The Big Green attempted eight shots, with three on net. The Bulldogs earned three penalty corners in the first three periods and two in the last, while Dartmouth earned their two in the fourth period.

Looking ahead, the Bulldogs will play their final game of the season on Saturday. 

“I’m most looking forward to getting to play with this team one last time to achieve the goals we set out for ourselves during preseason,” Keely Comizio ’25 said. 

The Bulldogs will travel to Ithaca to compete against Cornell University on Nov. 5.

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The Blue and White beat the University of Pennsylvania (4–9, 2–3 Ivy) in their Oct. 22 senior night game at Johnson Field.

“The toughest part about competition this weekend was being able to sustain pressure against UPenn all the way into overtime,” Julia Freedman ’25 said. “They scored first, which is always tough to come back from, but it was a game of stamina and we had to trust that if we kept pushing, the goals would come.”

The Quakers scored the first goal of the game off of a penalty corner 13 minutes into the first period. After an intense, goalless second period, Alissa Wong ’23 scored the first goal of the game for the Bulldogs and the first goal of her senior season. After goals from Lily Ramsey ’25 and Ellie Barlow ’25, the Bulldogs clinched the win 3–2 in overtime play. 

Two minutes after Wong’s goal, Ramsey landed another shot in the net, putting the Bulldogs ahead of the Quakers 2-1. A minute and a half into the fourth period, the Quakers tied the score, sending the game into overtime. 

Four and a half minutes into overtime, Barlow scored the winning goal off of a penalty corner for the Bulldogs. Barlow’s winning goal was also her fourth goal of her sophomore season. 

“Throughout the season there has been some doubt in our ability to perform as a team when it matters,” Barlow wrote to the News. “We know we are capable, but sometimes we fall short when we know we could have done better. After this win against a ranked team (first in five years) I think that we should have confidence going forward that we can continue to perform against strong teams.” 

The win also serves as a milestone for the Bulldogs, who have not beaten No. 33 Penn since 2016. By the end of the game, the Quakers had ten shots while the Bulldogs had 17 shots. UPenn had five shots on net to the Blue and White’s 12. 

The game also celebrated seniors Théodora Dillman ’23, Laine Garber ’23, April Kim ’23, Katie Pieterse ’23 and Wong for their dedication as Bulldogs.

With two games left in the season, Princeton University leads the Ancient Eight standings, followed by Harvard University, Cornell University, Columbia University and Yale. Looking ahead, the Bulldogs will compete against Dartmouth College and Cornell University to wrap up their 2022 season. 

“I’m most looking forward to continuing to establish ourselves within the Ivy League and keep up the momentum from last [week’s] win,” said Ramsey. 

The Bulldogs will take on Dartmouth as their next opponent in Hanover on Saturday.

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The Bulldogs took a loss against Columbia University (4–8, 2–2 Ivy) on Friday, and rallied hard against Lafayette College (5–11, 1–3 Patriot) on Sunday for a win. 

“The highlight of the weekend [was] playing collective team hockey against a very talented Lafayette team,” Bulldog coach Melissa Gonzalez wrote to the News. “We shared the ball, stuck to our principles of play, and took care of the details. It demonstrated the high standard we’re capable of and the performance we are trying to consistently chase.”

On Friday, the Lions scored early in the game against the Bulldogs at the end of the first. Forward Poppy Beales ’26 was able to tie it up for the Blue and White in the third, but the Lions scored another in the fourth to win the game. 

In the 32nd minute, rookie Beales slotted in her fourth goal of the season and the sole Blue and White goal of the game. Beales accounted for half of the Blue and White’s shots against the Lions.

The Bulldogs earned six penalty corners throughout the game to the Lions’ four. Goalie Luanna Summer ’24 maintained strong form during the game, ending with four saves. 

On Sunday, the Bulldogs rebounded and clinched a win at home against Lafayette.

“The toughest part of the weekend was probably bouncing back from the two losses we had last weekend, and our loss on Friday against Columbia,” Keely Comizio ’25 said.

The game started slow with no goals scored in the first period but quickly got exciting with a hard fought goal in the second. 

About 25 minutes in, Maddy Wong ’24 took a penalty corner for the Bulldogs. In a blur of action, Theodora Dillman ’23 attempted a shot and after two more tries from Beales, Lily Ramsey ’25 knocked it in. This was her third goal of the season. 

The Bulldogs fought hard and kept the Lafayette Leopards scoreless to win the game. The Leopards attempted 13 shots with five on net. Summer maintained strong form by stopping all five. 

Looking ahead, the Bulldogs will play their last three field hockey games of the season against three Ivies — the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College and Cornell University — in the coming weekends. 

“We were eager for a win and this was very evident against Lafayette on Sunday,” Ramsey wrote to the News. “Our support for each other on the field, willingness to do whatever it takes, and ability to stay composed ultimately led to the exciting win. I think that this weekend of competition gives us good momentum heading into this week of practice and a big game against UPenn next Saturday.” 

The Bulldogs will host the University of Pennsylvania next Saturday. 

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The Bulldogs (6–5, 1–2 Ivy) traveled to Cambridge to play Harvard University (8–3, 3–0 Ivy) on Friday at the Berylson Family Field Hockey Field before hosting the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (10-3, 3-1, A-10) on Sunday. 

The Crimson scored twice in the first 10 minutes against the Bulldogs during the game on Friday in Cambridge. The Blue and White played aggressively for the rest of the game, but two more goals from Harvard came in the second and third period. The Bulldogs remained goalless on Friday with the final score reading 4–0. 

About a minute into the second period, Ellie Barlow ’25 took a penalty corner that midfielder Théodora Dillman ’23 attempted to convert into a goal, but was blocked by the Crimson’s goalkeeper. Bulldog goalie Luanna Summer ’24 maintained strong form by securing six saves as she played all 60 minutes for the Bulldogs.

“I’m most looking forward to getting back into Ivy play and proving ourselves within the league. Our team goal is top three and that is still very achievable,” Keely Comizio ’25, a sophomore on the team, said. “After this weekend we realized we need to come into every game believing we are as good as the teams we are playing and not start playing scared where we then concede a goal and are forced to come from behind.” 

On Sunday, the Bulldogs came home to New Haven to take on the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (10–3, 3–1 Atlantic 10) for family weekend at Johnson Field.  

The Minutewomen began play by scoring a goal 54 seconds into the game. Although the Minutewomen had the opportunity to put another goal in with six penalty corners throughout the match, goalie Summer remained strong for the second game in a row. 

In the tenth and 11th minutes of the first period, the Bulldogs attempted six shots. While the Bulldogs fought hard, the Minutewomen did not let any goals in, leaving the Bulldogs scoreless again this weekend.

“The highlight of the weekend was Sunday, when we debriefed as a team,” coach Gonzalez wrote to the News. “The group has big goals and they’re willing to work towards them. Our focus is set on continually improving and the games ahead.”

The Bulldogs attempted 11 shots against the Minutewomen and Summers completed four saves throughout the game. 

Looking ahead, the Blue and White will host Columbia to continue their Ivy League play on Friday.  

“In practice, we plan to continue to work hard to get back on track and secure an Ivy win against Columbia.” Julia Freedman ’25 said. 

Yale will also host Lafayette on Sunday at Johnson Field. 

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Friday’s game against Princeton was a tough one for the Bulldogs, with the home team taking a loss. The Tigers scored four goals against the Blue and White before midfielder Théodora Dillman ’23 was able to score the first goal for the Bulldogs. 

“The last few Sundays have been hard for us and we have been struggling to get a result,” Poppy Beales ’26 said. “But the team was so determined to get the win [on Sunday] and that showed right until the final play of the game.”

The Tigers had 18 shots with 13 on net against goalkeeper Luanna Summer ’24, who performed well with seven saves. Nevertheless, the Tigers scored one in the first quarter, two in the second, one in the third and two in the fourth. 

On Sunday the Bulldogs had greater success, winning against the Quinnipiac Bobcats in overtime. 

Ten minutes in, the Bobcats scored the first goal of the game off of a penalty corner. Beales was able to tie up the game for the Bulldogs. This was Beales’ third goal of her first season playing for the Blue and White. 

“Our team learned the importance of putting together a complete 60+ minute game [and that] details off ball really drive our success and position us to either win or lose games,” Melissa Gonzalez, Yale’s coach, wrote to the News.

Both the Bulldogs and the Bobcats fought hard during the rest of regulation play. Quinnipiac had nine shots, five on net. The Bulldogs out-shot the Bobcats with 13 shots, seven of which were on net. 

Seven minutes into overtime midfielder Dillman scored to win the game with an assist by Ellie Barlow ’25. Dillman’s goal was number six for her senior season. This was the second weekend in a row the Bulldogs fought in overtime. 

Looking ahead, the Bulldogs will travel to Harvard to continue their Ivy League play on Friday.

“A big point of emphasis is going to be outcomes — we need to continue to be competitive with each other day to day in practice both from attacking and defensive perspectives,” Goalie Alexa Pitts ’25 said. “Harvard isn’t going to give us an easy game, but we’re going to stay focused on our goals and walk the walk — not just talk about it.”

The Bulldogs will host the University of Massachusetts, Amherst on Sunday during family weekend at Johnson Field. 

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Midfielder Théodora Dillman ’23 scored the first goal for the Bulldogs, assisted by Maddy Wong ’24 off a penalty corner, tying the game versus Brown on Friday 25 minutes into the game. Forward Ellie Barlow ’25 scored the Blue and White’s second goal to tie the game with less than two minutes left in regulation and another goal in overtime by Dillman won the game for the Bulldogs. On Sunday, the Bulldogs took on Fairfield, rallying late in the game and heading into overtime for the second game in a row.

“It was great to see the group celebrate after the Brown victory but equally impressive to see the group come together after our Fairfield loss,” Gonzalez said. “The team is great with learning and growing together and [that] was the highlight of the weekend.”  

The game on Friday against Brown is the first Ivy League win for head coach Melissa Gonzalez who came into the position in January of 2022. Goalkeeper Luanna Summer ’24 completed four saves with a save percentage of 66.7 percent.

“The overtime win at Brown on Friday [happened] within the first minute of overtime and showed how much everyone wanted it,” Barlow said. 

The Bulldogs attempted seven shots against Brown with a shot percentage of 42.9 percent. Six of the shots were on goal.

On Sunday, the Bulldogs played a double-overtime game and lost in a tight shoot-out to Fairfield.

“This weekend we demonstrated that we’re resilient,” Gonzalez said. “It’s such an important skill to be able to not give up after conceding a goal and we proved to ourselves that as a group we can work to come back and position ourselves to win games.”

Fairfield scored the only goal in the first half, but forward Poppy Beales ’26 was able to tie it in the third quarter. In the fourth, Dillman tied the game 2–2 with less than two and a half minutes to play. While the Bulldogs fought hard, after two rounds of shootouts, Fairfield took the victory, winning 3–2. 

Looking forward, the Bulldogs will continue their Ivy play against Princeton this Friday.

“Before our game this [coming] Friday, we will be working on a lot of our tactical and technical basics and really focusing on refining our style of play.” Laine Garber ’23 said. “We’ve talked a lot about mentality, so this week the focus will be performing every drill at game-intensity.”

The Bulldogs will also host Quinnipiac University on Sunday. 

Betsy Good | betsy.good@yale.edu

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