 | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
Sports Shorts
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Bulldogs fall to Notre Dame, NCAA hopes getting dimmer
Although the NCAA tournament may be a long shot after a tough 4-0 loss on Wed., Oct. 18 to No. 1 Notre Dame, the women's soccer team is hopeful. "To have a strong presence in the NCAA draw, we had to win our last four games," Coach Rudy Meredith said. "Winning three of the last four will still give us a chance, but it won't be as good." The team's future may be uncertain right now, but their attitude has not changed from day one.
|
"I'm not sure how good our chances of reaching the playoffs are," goalie Sarah Peterson, PC '02, said. "But having beaten the No. 18 team in the country, and playing with the No. 1 team in the country are huge confidence boosters."
With a 7-6-1 (1-3, Ivy) record, the team has had a rollercoaster season to date, with wins against No. 18 UConn, Army, and Cornell, and disappointing losses to Ivy competitors Harvard and Princeton.
"We have three Ivies left," Peterson said. "We want to finish off strong with three wins added to our record. We still have the drive in us to go out and win those games."
But winning those next three games might not be as easy as Peterson or Meredith makes it sound. The Bulldogs will play Brown, which is ranked among the top 25, as well as Columbia and Penn, against whom they traditionally play close games. The Penn and Columbia games have been decided by one or two goals each of the last couple of years.
Consistent intensity and team fusion will make the difference in the coming weeks. Everyone must play at their best, according to Meredith, who says that there is no one superstar to carry the team. "We know that we need to set the tone of the games early. When we score first and fast we win games," Captain Jennifer Mendoza, BR '01 commented. "We need to finish games and keep the intensity for all 90 minutes of the game."
"The goals at the beginning of the season were to win Ivies and get a bid to the NCAAs. Although we haven't done as well in Ivies, we still hope to get a chance in the NCAA tournament," Mendoza said. "No matter what happens, we know we have worked hard, shown heart, and will continue to push ourselves until the end."
Yale heads to the NCAA East Regional Preview in Va.
Coming off a third-place finish in the Ivy League last year, and losing only one starter to graduation, the men's golf team opened the season with high expectations. But so far this year, the team is, according to captain Louis Aurelio, MC '01, "improving from a rough start and looking forward to the next couple of tournaments."
This weekend the team heads to the NCAA East Regional Preview in Williamsburg, Va., for a chance to play the course where the NCAAs will be held come spring. A strong showing will give the Bulldogs momentum heading into the off-season and confidence that the spring season might be better than the fall. The first tournament results weren't as strong as the Bulldogs hoped, but the team has been shooting lower scores. However, this week's tournament has an added twist. When Yale played in the Adams Cup in Newport, R.I., two weekends ago— placing 10th out of 14 teams against stiff competition, including several nationally-ranked programs—the top five golfers who played have missed the maximum number of classes due to travel allowed under Ivy League regulations. As a result, these players will not be eligible to play this weekend; Yale will show up to the tournament with a completely different team. For many squads, this would mean definite defeat, but on Yale's squad, the top 10 players are all so competitive that no one is worried about the lineup rotating.
In the spring, the team has its sights set not only on NCAAs, but also on the Ivy title that has eluded them the last two years. Chris Eckerle, BR '02, said, "Our goal is to win the Ivy championship. If we just continue to improve like we have thus far this season there's no limit to what we can do."
Getting a second wind
The Bulldogs (2-11, 1-4 Ivy) faced Harvard on Sat., Oct. 14, and while Harvard won the game, the highlight of the weekend was the presence of teammate Amanda Walton, SY '02. Walton, who was critically injured in a car accident earlier this year, was able to "sit on the bench, sing the fight song, and be a part of the halftime huddle," Head Coach Ainslee Lamb said. "It was a very special day for Yale and the field hockey program." Captain Anne Rippetoe, TD '01 added. "Having Amanda on our sideline again was wonderful. She is still as much a part of the team as she ever has been and having her there made the day incredibly special for both teams." Amanda's twin sister, Hilary, plays field hockey for Harvard.
That emotional lift gave the team the jumpstart it needed to notch their second victory of the season four days later on Wed., Oct. 18 against Quinnipiac. Yale scored three goals in the first half; Caroline Thompson's, CC '02, goal sealed the victory with seven minutes to go. Yale's offense, which faltered near the goal in previous games, outshot Quinnipiac 22-5. The win follows last week's unexpected victory over Columbia, in which Rippetoe was named to the Ivy League Honor Roll for her game-winning assist with 16 seconds left.
On Sat., Oct. 21, Yale challenges Penn, which is currently 3-12 overall, 0-3 in the Ivy League. Despite their poor record, Penn is a formidable team, having played Harvard to a 3-2 overtime game earlier this season.
—Darcy Wiecks
All materials © 2000 The Yale Herald, Inc., and its staff.
Got any questions, comments, or advice? Email the online editors at
online@yaleherald.com.
Like to join us?