Yale Athletics

This past weekend, Yale’s field hockey team (7–8, 3–3 Ivy) took on Columbia University (3–11, 0–6 Ivy) and the University of Richmond (7–9, 2–4 A10). 

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.