Rosati Scores One, Assists on Two

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale field hockey team needed to turn the page quickly after a tough Ivy League loss to Princeton Saturday, but Hofstra was not about to go down without a fight Sunday afternoon at Johnson Field. The Dutchwomen rallied back twice to tie the game, including a penalty stroke goal with less than 30 minutes to play. But Yale got the go-ahead goal shortly after that when, assisted by junior forward Mia Rosati, junior back Erin Carter drilled home the rebound of a penalty corner shot by junior midfielder/back Taylor Sankovich. The Bulldogs then got an insurance goal 10 minutes later from Rosati, who finished the day with four points.

"The team did an outstanding job of turning the page after a tough loss yesterday," head coach Pam Stuper said. "We made sure today was something we could be proud of -- both in terms of our performance and in terms of the outcome."

Yale (5-3) broke on top quickly, with a wide-open forward Chelsey Locarno converting a feed from freshman midfielder/back Georgia Holland right in front of the goal at 2:39, but Hofstra (5-5) made sure this was a back-and-forth affair. Senior goalkeeper Katie Bolling made a nice kick save on a shot by Genna Kovar only to see Hofstra come right back seconds later and get the game-tying goal from Diane Caldwell at 12:32.

Bolling made another kick save on Kovar minutes later, and Yale just missed on a scoring opportunity when a cross from freshman forward Erica Borgo sailed just out of the reach of sophomore forward Maddy Sharp in front of the goal. Hofstra's Amanda Heyde denied senior forward Johna Paolino with a kick save at the 22-minute mark, but Paolino came back six minutes later and converted a pass from Rosati into a 2-1 lead.

The Bulldogs were outshot 14-11 in the first half but reversed that trend in the second half, outshooting the Dutchwomen 10-9. Freshman goalie Emily Cain, who came on for Bolling (seven saves) in the second half, made four saves but had the unenviable task of trying to stop a penalty stroke for Arielle Williams -- tied for second on the team in goals -- at 43:21. Williams got the shot off before Cain could even get set, scoring her eighth goal of the year to tie the game 2-2.

On top of Saturday's tough loss, the Bulldogs also had to overcome the recent trend of the past two Sundays. Yale let leads slip away in non-league overtime losses to UMass and Maine, both by 3-2 scores. That trend was reversed this Sunday when Holland drove in and drew a penalty corner. While Heyde was able to make a diving save on Sankovich's shot, she had no chance to recover before Rosati fed the rebound back to Carter for a line drive that proved to be the game-winner at 46:56. Rosati's goal at 57:59 ensured that Yale's brief losing streak ended at two. Four different players wound up scoring Yale's goals.

"The difference today was we continued to play together, even when we got scored on," Stuper said. "This was really a team effort. Everybody worked for each other and stayed together. The defense kept dropping back, and even if they got past one person someone else was there."

The Bulldogs' backfield has been depleted, as an injury has forced Erica Cullum to move up and play forward. On Sunday, sophomore back Lexy Adams came off the bench and made the most of her extended minutes by coming up with some key tackles.

"Lexy has improved on both sides of the ball," Stuper said. "She's definitely a reserve that we look to as someone who can come in and contribute."

Sunday's game capped a busy weekend at Johnson Field, as the Bulldogs raised money for breast cancer research at the Yale Cancer Center by selling t-shirts in conjunction with the women's soccer and volleyball teams. That was in addition to Yale's season-long "Get a Grip" fundraiser for the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation in support of sophomore goalkeeper Ona McConnell, who has been diagnosed with the disease. And with Saturday being Alumnae Day, many alums stuck around for Sunday's game and will play in the annual Yale Field Hockey Association Golf Outing Monday.

"It was awesome having so many alums back this weekend, especially with so many of them staying over last night and coming to today's game," Stuper said. "It was fun for the team and for our staff, and great to see the stands filled."

Sunday marked Yale's last home game until Oct. 23. The Bulldogs start a stretch of five straight road games with a trip to Cornell next Saturday.

Report by Sam Rubin '95 (sam.rubin@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity