Field Hockey: Bulldog journey yields mixed results

The team began the road trip with one of its toughest tests of the season: a contest against 13th-ranked Duke on Fri., Oct. 23. The Blue Devils came away with an impressive 2-1 victory. To close out the North Carolina trip, the Bulldogs faced William and Mary on Sat., Oct. 24 and dropped their second straight decision by the same 2-1 tally. Captain Lindsay Hobbs, PC '99, said that despite the losses, the team played great hockey. "The Duke and William and Mary games were faster-paced than games we've played this year," she said. "But we were still able to dictate the pace of both games, and that really gave us encouragement to play the rest of our games at that quicker pace."

The Elis welcomed their next match, another road contest at Fairfield on Wed., Oct. 28, with open arms. In their second straight overtime game, the Elis notched a 4-3 victory. "The Fairfield win was a big one for us," Sue Barnes, DC '00, said. "We really used the things we learned on the road--the speed of the game and of our passing game--to our advantage."

The Bulldogs remain undeterred as they look to their final road contest of the season, a matchup at Pennsylvania on Sat., Oct. 31. A win over the Quakers would ensure Yale of a winning league record for the first time since 1980, and would have postseason implications. "As far as our ECAC hopes are concerned, it's crucial to win our last three games," Hobbs said. "And bumping Pennsylvania from second place is extra motivation."

--Christopher Burke

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