PRINCETON, N.J. – Playing with a spot in the Ivy League Tournament on the line, the Yale field hockey team pushed No. 13 Princeton almost to the limit Saturday afternoon at Bedford Field. The Bulldogs had the Tigers locked in a scoreless game until just over three minutes remained, when a penalty stroke goal by Beth Yeager put Princeton up 1-0. That wound up being the decisive goal, dropping the Bulldogs into a tie for fourth in the Ivy League standings and leaving their postseason fate in the hands of Columbia and Dartmouth.
Yale falls to 10-6 overall (3-4 in the Ivy League), while Princeton improves to 12-4 overall (7-0 in the Ivy League). The Bulldogs are currently tied for fourth with Cornell, but Columbia is 2-4 and plays Dartmouth Sunday. A win by the Lions would forge a three-way tie for fourth, and Columbia would advance to the Ivy League Tournament as the No. 4 seed based on having beaten both Cornell and Yale earlier this year. If Dartmouth beats Columbia Sunday, Yale would be the No. 4 seed in the tournament based on having beaten Cornell head-to-head.
Summary
- The Bulldogs controlled play early on. They had a 6-1 shot advantage, and a 4-0 advantage in penalty corners, in the first quarter.
- Princeton outshot Yale 4-1 in the second quarter, but the game was scoreless at halftime.
- In a key sequence midway through the third quarter, Alexa Pitts made one of her six saves for the game – kicking away a shot by Beth Yeager – and Talia Schenck's attempt at a follow-up hit the post and was cleared away by Hettie Whittington. The game remained scoreless heading into the fourth.
- Yale could not get a shot off on a penalty corner early in the fourth, and that wound up being the Bulldogs' last good scoring chance.
- During a Princeton penalty corner with 3:22 left, a redirection by the Tigers was blocked by a Yale player's body. On the ensuing penalty stroke, Yeager snuck one inside the left post to put the Tigers up 1-0. That wound up being the game's only goal.
Notes
- Brown's win over Penn, which went final about an hour after Yale's loss, gave the Bears the No. 3 seed in the tournament. Princeton is the No. 1 seed and Harvard is the No. 2 seed.
- This marked the first time Princeton was held to one goal or less since a 2-1 loss at then-No. 15 Syracuse Oct. 6.
- The last two games between these two teams, and four of the last seven, have been decided by one goal.
- This was the final regular season game for Yale's seven seniors:
Up Next
- If Dartmouth beats Columbia Sunday (10:00 a.m. at Columbia), Yale will be the No. 4 seed in the Ivy League Tournament and will play No. 1 seed Princeton in the semifinals Friday Nov. 8 at 11:30 a.m. at Bedford Field. If Columbia beats Dartmouth Sunday, the Bulldogs' 2024 season is over.
