NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale field hockey team took on the No. 1 team in the nation on Sunday afternoon at Johnson Field, and it did not take long for the UConn Huskies to show why they are ranked where they are. With three goals in the first 7:12 -- including the first of four for the day by forward Charlotte Veitner -- the Huskies seized control of the game early. They went on to win 8-0, extending their unbeaten streak to 25 games.

Entering Sunday UConn (11-0, 1-0 Big East), which has won the last two National Championships, had outscored its last two opponents by a combined score of 20-0 and had scored six or more goals in a game six times this season. The Huskies got a penalty stroke goal from forward/midfielder Casey Umstead to start the scoring at 3:19, then went up 3-0 on goals by Veitner and forward/midfielder Amelia Iacobucci in the next four minutes.

After that junior goalie Emilie Katz and the Yale defense settled in, holding the powerful UConn offense scoreless for nearly 20 minutes. Veitner tacked on a goal just before halftime to put the Huskies up 4-0.

UConn's penalty corner unit then went to work early in the second half, as the Huskies' first three goals of the second came off corners. Two were scored by Veitner, giving her 23 for the season. She had entered the weekend second in the nation in goals per game, averaging 2.11.

The Huskies' seventh goal came from midfielder Anna Mittendorf, and forward Kendall Youngblood notched the game's final goal at 51:26 to make it 8-0.

Katz finished with 12 saves, making this the fifth straight game in which she has made 12 or more saves. She now has 101 saves for the season, 38 more than any other Ivy League goalkeeper. UConn's Nina Klein made two saves to register her fourth solo shutout of the season. Her best play came on a 1v1 vs. sophomore midfielder Katie Smith, as Klein used her blocker to knock away Smith's shot with 14 minutes left in the game.

In addition to Katz' work, the Bulldogs got defensive saves from freshman backs Jackie Kisa and Nikoletta Toffoloni.

Yale (2-7, 0-2 Ivy League) returns to action next Saturday, hosting Cornell at 12:00 p.m.

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