New Haven United Football Club was officially established last month by Jason Price, a local entrepreneur who owns the arts incubator NXTHVN, as an expansion club in the National Premier Soccer League. Although not considered a professional team because the players won’t be paid, the team will compete in the fourth highest tier in American competitive soccer — a minor league, in other words.

“I purchased it for the love of the game, the love of the athlete and the love of the changing regional soccer ecosystem, but bringing it to a community that I’m involved with,” Price told the News. “I do believe that sport has a way to bring community together [as] something that a lot of communities enjoy rallying around … and since soccer is such a multicultural sport, it brings out a diverse group of New Haven citizens.”

New Haven United will compete in the NPSL’s North Atlantic Conference against at least four other clubs, with the possibility of advancing to a playoff series and even the U.S. Open Cup — a tournament consisting of American teams from four professional leagues and four amateur leagues. The regular season will run from May to July.

According to Price, the roster is made up of aspiring “pre-pro” players from NCAA Division I programs, including a few players from the Yale, Sacred Heart and UConn men’s teams, international players and older players who may have reached the end of their professional careers but can still play at a relatively high level. The NPSL, he said, is “a great pathway” to professional soccer in the United States or abroad.

Conrad Lee ’26, a goalkeeper on Yale’s men’s team, recently signed with the inaugural squad. 

He emphasized how important it is for Division I players like himself to play at a high level over the summer to ensure that they’re prepared for the NCAA’s fall soccer season, though they cannot be paid in a professional capacity in order to maintain NCAA eligibility. During his college summers, Lee has also played for Hartford City FC — another NPSL team — and Ballard FC — a semi-pro USL League Two team based in Seattle.

“I was looking for a place where I can get more minutes and get to play with my [Yale] teammates, as well, because there hasn’t been any kind of amateur setup in New Haven,” Lee said. “I’m lucky enough that they’ve signed me on to their roster for this inaugural season, and I’m super excited.”

Although New Haven hasn’t had a high-level soccer team — or any professional sports team for that matter — in six years, United has an impressive legacy to follow. Elm City Express soccer team won the 2017 NPSL championship in its inaugural season and advanced to the third round of the 2018 U.S. Open Cup. The Express took a hiatus for the 2019 season and was never reestablished.

Considering the legacy of amateur soccer in New Haven and the caliber of the incoming squad, Lee is hoping United will be able to make a run for a championship. 

“Any opportunity that I can get as a player to go and compete for something that means something, not just to the team, but for a place in the community is fantastic,” Lee told the News.

“It’s been very clear from the get-go that this club is going to try to establish that sense of community around the group, and that is awesome to play for when you are a player. When you’re playing for something bigger than yourself, that’s what makes it so much more rewarding.”

Mayor Justin Elicker is looking forward to the club’s first season and its potential impact on the city, and local players, fans and families should be, too, he wrote to the News.

“The arrival of New Haven United is a wonderful opportunity to support and grow the sport of soccer in the Elm City and across the region,” he wrote. “Jason Price has been a strong collaborator with and champion for the city, and we’re confident he’ll build an outstanding soccer program with New Haven United.” 

New Haven United will play its home games in Yale’s Reese Stadium — home to the Bulldogs’ men’s and women’s soccer and lacrosse teams. 

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Now, the senior standout is moving up to the professional United Soccer League, where he will “Defend the Fortress” for Hartford Athletic after signing with the club Wednesday.

“All I can think about is how proud my 5 year old self would be right now,” Presthus wrote to the News. “Yale has changed my life and it has been a privilege to represent this university on the soccer field.”

Presthus credited this opportunity with the support of his family, all of whom play soccer. Both of his parents captained soccer teams at Southern Methodist University, and his father went on to play professionally at DC United and Columbus Crew. He won two MLS Cup championships and was an MLS all-star. Presthus also grew up playing soccer with his two younger brothers, one of whom is also a professional now. 

A news release from Hartford Athletic described Presthus as “a formidable presence in collegiate soccer,” and his collection of athletic honors from his time as a Bulldog certainly agrees. Not only was Presthus elected team captain his senior season, but he is also a two-time all-Ivy League first-team selection, the 2023 Ivy League defensive player of the year and a two-time United Soccer Coaches all-region second-team selection. Presthus was also the first Bulldog to make the United Soccer Coaches’ scholar all-America team since 2018.

While Presthus’ defensive prowess on the field has been celebrated through a number of honors, he has also proven his ability to convert on the attack, scoring eight goals throughout his collegiate career, including four in his final season. 

“TJ is a talented and versatile young player whose strong work ethic aligns well with our team’s identity,” Hartford head coach and general manager Brendan Burke said in the news release. “He’s sharp on both sides of the ball and brings a combination of leadership, athleticism and composure that will be invaluable throughout the long season.”

So far, Presthus is the only one of the Green and Blue’s 2025 signees to come from directly a collegiate program. He joins a group of five other new players, each of whom comes from a professional league, including USL, Major League Soccer, MLS Next Pro and a Lithuanian second-tier league.

He has already begun practicing with the team and is looking forward to getting started with regular season games in the next few weeks. 

“Truthfully, I want to keep playing soccer for as long as I can and reach the highest level I am capable of,” Presthus wrote. “With that being said, it’s easy to get caught up in thinking about the future too much, so I am just trying to take things one day at a time.”

Hartford Athletic, the only professional soccer team in Connecticut, was founded in 2018 and joined the United Soccer League, a Division II league directly below Major League Soccer, in 2019. Of the six seasons Hartford has played, it only made the USL playoffs once, in 2020. With Presthus on the field, perhaps that number will soon change.

“Hartford is a perfect fit that allows him to make this transition smoothly,” head men’s soccer coach Kylie Stannard wrote to the News. “I think it’s also a great fit for Hartford because they are getting a top player, a top competitor and a top person that is only getting started.”

Presthus’ Yale teammates have rallied behind him since the announcement of his signing, with midfielder Andrew Seidman ’26 describing him as an “inspiration” on and off the field.

Ryan Cote ’25, another senior who began playing for the Bulldogs at the same time as Presthus, explained that his impact on the team “was immediate and immense when we first came to Yale,” and Jamie Orson ’25, who played center back with Presthus, described him as “the most passionate and determined center back partner I could have ever asked for.”

“He is always someone you trust to give one hundred percent and be consistent every time he steps on the field,” Cote wrote to the News. “He is someone you always want to listen to because of his natural understanding of the game and his performance, and you can never count out a late winner off of a set piece from him.”

Hartford Athletic will kick off its 2025 season in South Carolina against Lexington Sporting Club on March 8.

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The Elis almost got on the scoreboard with a near-post shot by Joe Farouz ’27, but the attempt was squashed by the Princeton goalkeeper at the seven-minute mark. This was the Bulldogs’ only attempt on goal for the remainder of the game.

“It was definitely a tough one this weekend. In this sport though, and especially with the way our season is structured, we have to learn and move on from these types of games quickly,” Aydin Jay ’26 wrote to the News. “Our focus is on just getting better each day we are together, which will ultimately prepare us well for this weekend against Penn.”

The competition ended 0–1, with Princeton able to maintain the lead from their early goal. Goalkeeper Chris Edwards ’25 was able to save two more attempts by the opposition to keep the loss within one goal.

The Bulldogs fell to 1–4–0 in conference play with the loss, and this was Princeton’s first win over Yale since 2021. 

“This weekend was an example of the game coming down to a matter of moments. We played well, but ultimately found ourselves on the wrong end of a given moment that cost us,” Jay wrote. “We are learning to refine our game in order to limit these types of moments, and ultimately go out there and put out a full 90-minute performance this upcoming weekend, which I know we are capable of doing.”

The Bulldogs return to New Haven to face Penn (11–2–1, 5–0–0 Ivy) on Saturday, Nov 2., for senior night. In order to turn things around, the team will need to beef up their offensive strategy and get some points on the board.

The matchup against the Quakers is the penultimate game of the season for the Elis, who will travel to Brown for their final game on Nov. 9.

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This is the third game in a row the Bulldogs have dropped to the Bears, but the first of the three that occurred in Providence. 

Head Coach Sarah Martinez wrote to the News that she wanted her team to be in control.

“For our group, we went into the game wanting to combat their press with our composure but be on the front foot from the beginning of the game,” Martinez wrote.

The first half moved too quickly for the Bulldogs’ defense, with Brown putting their foot on the gas from the start of the game. Taking advantage of their third corner kick of the game at 14:03, the Bears’ offense put immense pressure on goalkeeper Kyla Holmes ’27. She managed one save until six minutes later, when the first goal of the game scored on a kick by Brown forward Ayla Sahin.  

Not long after, a chip shot by Nadja Meite over the head of Holmes sunk the Bulldogs to a 0-2 deficit within 20 minutes of the game’s beginning.

Martinez wrote that her team fell behind early because they “allowed Brown to be the aggressor.”

Off to a difficult start, Martinez made some quick substitutions. Only two players for Yale played the full 90 minutes, Tanner Cahalan ’25 and Logan Jacobs ’26. Even Holmes was substituted after the half, allowing Anna Shamgochian ’28 her first debut in Ivy League play.

Martinez felt her team played better in the second half.

“I felt we were on the front foot,” she wrote. “Matching their physicality, [finding] our spacing, and [creating] some quality chances. If we scored one of those chances, I think the game could have really shifted in our favor.”

In the second half, the Bulldogs came out with more fire. Where in the first 45 minutes the offense had only one shot, the team managed six in the second. 

At 51:31 in the game, Yale had their biggest opportunity to cut into Brown’s lead. Vienna Lundstedt ’28 had two shots back-to-back, followed by an attempt by Ashley Kirschner ’26. All three forced the Bears’ goalie to make three saves within a minute, but not a single one successfully managed to greet the netting of the goal.

Despite other opportunities to score, the Bulldogs dropped the match to Brown, 0-2. 

The team turns their attention to Princeton University (8–3, 3–0 Ivy), who are undefeated in Ivy League play. The Tigers are hot off a 1-0 victory against The University of Pennsylvania (1–7–4, 0–2–1 Ivy).

“For Princeton, we need to have a full 90 minute performance,” Martinez wrote. “I think we’ve seen that, in many games we’ve played, when we show up at our best, we are a very good team. Our league is so wide open but we continue to focus on one game at a time. We are excited to play a very good Princeton team, and I believe our group will be ready for a great performance.”

The Bulldogs square up against the Tigers on Sunday, Oct. 13 at 1 p.m. at Reese Stadium in New Haven.  

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This is the second game in a row against Penn that has finished in a tie. Historically, the Bulldogs have not proved a tough match for the Quakers, winning only three of 16 games since 2008.

The Saturday game at Reese Stadium celebrated Pride Night and Alumni Night. Packed with fans, the crowd looked for the Bulldogs to extend their four-game winning streak.

In the first half, Yale’s offense looked to flip the script and dominate Penn early. 

The game’s first corner kick was granted to the Bulldog offense, who took the opportunity and ran with it. Assisted by Ellie Rappole ’25, Belle Golden ’26 weaved in between Penn defenders and snuck the inaugural goal of the game past the Quaker goalie.

Soon after, Rappole would take an approach much like the one she took in the game-winning goal against Dartmouth and secure the game’s second goal for the Bulldogs. Receiving a pass from a speedy Alanna Butcher ’25, Rappole sailed a shot over the head of the leaping goalkeeper and into the top corner of the net. 

Within 10 minutes of each other, Rappole and Golden had tacked a 2–0 lead onto the scoreboard going into the half. 

Head Coach Sarah Martinez told Yale Athletics that her team came out “strong, composed, and clinical in the first half.”

After the first 45-minute period, the second began with what looked like a completely different Yale team. The ball, normally controlled by the Bulldog offense, seemed to stay almost entirely on the Quakers’ side. Despite save efforts from goalkeeper Kyla Holmes ’27, back-to-back corner kicks allowed the Penn offense to break their zero and score a goal. 

After this goal, Yale had multiple opportunities to score on three corner kicks within four minutes of each other. Only Marz Akins ’25 was able to manage a shot during the chaos.

At 78:31 in the second half, Penn’s fifth corner kick allowed Quaker forward Isobel Glass to tie the game, firing a shot past Holmes. The score held even with just under 12 minutes left in the game.

As time dwindled, so did momentum. Despite other opportunities for Yale to score, Penn’s defense ensured nothing came of it.

The game ended in a 2–2 draw.

“Disappointing to drop points after what I felt was a very good first half for us,” Martinez told Yale Athletics. “Unfortunately, it was a tale of two halves and we lost our identity a bit in the second, conceding two goals off set pieces and never could settle the game down.” 

The Bulldogs travel to face Brown University (4–3–3, 1–1–0 Ivy) on Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU. 

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The first half began quietly, a testament to the strength of defense on both sides. Each turnover proved a grueling battle for the ball, Red clashing with Blue to try and gain ground toward their respective goal. 

Boston secured the first corner kick of the game, putting pressure on goalkeeper Kyla Holmes ’27 from the start. Despite an early opportunity to obtain a lead, Boston’s Hugrún Helgadóttir sent the ball much too high over the crossbar. Nonetheless, the ball stayed on Boston’s side and Yale’s defense remained on high alert. At 8:20, Holmes notched her first and only save needed of the game, laying out and knocking the ball away from the net and sending her team and the crowd into applause. 

Despite the grit of the Terrier defense, the Bulldogs still managed to get near the net. 

At 28:23, Tanner Cahalan ’25 slammed a shot at the top corner of the goal, just ringing off the woodwork and barely relieving the first-year Terrier goalie of a Yale lead. The same pressure followed the goalie when, in the final seconds of the half, she was able to stop an Ashley Kirschner ’26 header from entering the net. The half ended 0–0.

After the break, the Bulldogs got right to work. Annika Bryant ’25, pushing downfield, forced another save from the Terrier goalkeeper, leading the charge for a clash of the canines. Despite valiant efforts from Boston defenders, who fended off shots left and right from the Bulldogs, a fighting shot from Captain Nana Yang ’25 cleared the Terrier defense and gave Yale the lead. This goal was Yang’s first of the season and the fourth of her career.

Head coach Sarah Martinez wrote to the News that she felt her team executed better in the second half on given opportunities such as corner kicks. 

“I think we had some good moments in the first half and the final execution just wasn’t there,” Martinez wrote. “As always we are very dangerous on set pieces. I think we could have scored a couple in the first half off of corners, so I was happy for our group to get 2 of them in the second half.” 

At 78:44, just six minutes after being substituted in, Abigail Solomon ’26 capitalized on a corner kick and scored the second goal of the game. Her first goal of the season was assisted by Yang and Karoline Hernes ’27. 

If the morale of the Boston women’s soccer team had not taken a hit yet, Tina Teik ’25 made sure the ride home would be silent. Off a throw from Alex Chang ’27, Addison Bray ’27 headed a pass to Teik, who sank the third and final goal of the game.

Rhett the Terrier fell to Handsome Dan, 3–0. This was the fourth victory in a row for the Bulldogs. 

Looking ahead, Martinez wrote to the News about her excitement for the upcoming weekend, when her team will celebrate Pride Night with a fundraiser with A Place to Nourish your Health New Haven.

“I’m so excited for our game Saturday,” she said. “The work that has gone into our Pride game, our alumni will be in town, and we are back at home for our first Ivy game at Reese. It should be an electric environment that I know will fuel our group for a good performance.”

The contest came just one day after the announcement of the weekly Ivy League awards, where Ellie Rappole ’25 was named Co-Offensive Player of the Week, an acknowledgement of her game-winning goal against Dartmouth the weekend prior.

Martinez wrote to the News that she was happy to see Rappole get this much-earned recognition.

“She’s a top player and a handful for teams so I am excited to see her continue to grow as the season progresses,” she wrote.

The Bulldogs remain home for their second conference game of the season against the University of Pennsylvania (1–6–3, 0–1 Ivy). They play at Reese Stadium on Oct. 5 at 6 p.m.

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Amongst the surging momentum surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement, the eight Ivy League Women’s Soccer teams seized the opportunity to form the Ivy League Justice Coalition. Made up of players and coaches from each school, the organization looked to unify the League by educating teammates and fans on social justice through their games. 

One of these games is Pride night, which the coalition decided to host on the same day every year. Each team also donned the same shirt with their school’s logo. This year, Yale will play against the University of Pennsylvania (1–5–3, 0–0 Ivy) on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. at Reese Stadium

The idea of a Pride night is not unique to Yale or the Ivy League. Countless schools around the country host Pride events for their athletics programs, often throwing up a rainbow flag haphazardly. An entirely performative charade is something Head Coach Sarah Martinez said she and her team look to avoid, instead looking to uplift LGBTQ+ people at Yale and in New Haven.

“Last year, [the coalition] thought it would be really powerful to do something together,” she said. “It’s just becoming bigger and more meaningful and impactful other than just saying ‘we support this.’”

Ellie Rappole ’25 was one of the campaign leaders for this league-wide Pride night. She wanted the event to be meaningful for those on and off the field who identify as queer.

According to Rappole, this year’s Pride night, which will take place on Saturday, Oct. 5, is a “year in the making.” 

“After our Pride night last year, I set to work making sure this year’s would be less performative and would help elevate the queer communities within both Yale and New Haven,” she said.

Rappole credited Assistant Athletic Director Abby Reynolds, Grayson Vives ’25 and the on-campus group Athlete Ally for their support in putting the night together

Mia Levy ’25, president of Athlete Ally and member of Yale Women’s Crew, said that the organization wanted to ensure the event stayed away from the typically performative Pride showmanship and truly support queer athletes.

“Yale Athlete Ally is a safe, queer space where athletes can come to feel appreciated as their full selves, and hopefully then bring that confidence back to their field of play,” Levy wrote. “We encourage teams to add more substance to their Pride nights by adding a fundraiser component for a local LGBTQ organization, inviting the Yale LGBTQ Center or other organizations to set up tables, or spreading educational information about how spectators and athletes can make their teams more inclusive spaces.”

The women’s soccer team chose to enhance their Pride night through fundraising efforts. With Rappole’s help, the team is raising money for A Place to Nourish Your Health, an LGBTQ-friendly organization focused on the care of people at risk of HIV, substance abuse, and mental illness.

Nana Yang ’25, this season’s captain and an international student from Espoo, Finland, is openly queer.  

Her experience in Finland, where her club team had an “accepting and empowering culture,” shaped how she carried herself in the team’s locker room, as she “didn’t think twice about who I can and cannot be.”

“I think me coming in confident changed the locker room to be similar to my club team’s,” Yang told the News. “In other words, me being so open and comfortable with who I am I think showed others that it’s okay — and actually pretty awesome — to break the norm.”

She considers herself very fortunate in her upbringing near Finland’s progressive capital city and the openness of her club team. Yang emphasized that she knows not everyone can be themselves, but she is grateful that she can because she chose Yale Women’s Soccer, where “anyone can be themself in [the] locker room.” 

Both Yang and Martinez have worked to ensure the locker room stays as welcoming as possible to the teammates who walk in it, no matter who they are.

Martinez told the News that the best way to do this is to set the tone from the start.

“I say this to my team a lot: when the first years walk in the door, they’re often wide-eyed and a bit naive,” Martinez said. “Right away being able to set that tone: whether it’s standards, whether it’s expression of yourself, whether it’s tolerance to any type of discrimination, I think … that’s something that our program has taken a lot of pride in.”

Coach Martinez told the News that because sports games are entertaining by nature, they can use that to draw people in and educate the community.

Pride night specifically is a responsibility she and her team take seriously because, as Martinez pointed out, “to be a gay soccer player is not abnormal in women’s soccer.” A 2023 Washington Post article called the Women’s World Cup “the gayest World Cup ever” because the 32 teams had a combined total of around 100 openly queer athletes on their rosters.

“[The Pride night is] one of our team’s favorite games of the year — they get cool shirts, that’s probably part of it — but I think they know how much it means to so many people within the locker room, how much it means to myself, and how much it can impact others,” Martinez said.

This Pride night is not just for out and proud athletes. It’s also for the allies, the curious, the closeted and everyone who takes pride in a part of themselves because, Yang emphasized, “it’s okay to be anything and everything all at once.” 

Levy emphasized the importance of being loud with support.

“When we get members to show up to a pride game, queer athletes feel supported and cared for and those are the foundations of the community we are trying to build with Athlete Ally,” Levy wrote to the News. “The prouder and louder we are, the easier queer athletes, both out and closeted, can find us, get connected with us, and feel more supported as their whole queer selves.”

Martinez, Rappole, Yang and their team want to state that everyone deserves to feel proud of who they are.

The team’s fundraiser for A Place to Nourish your Health is available here.

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For the past three years, the Bulldogs have failed to defeat the Big Green, with two of those three games ending in home losses. It was their turn to give Dartmouth a taste of their own medicine.

“1–0 each game has been our approach all season and this team has stayed so focused on that throughout the year,” Head Coach Sarah Martinez told Yale Athletics. “But I know this one was circled on the schedule wanting to set a tone in the Ivy League.”

Quickly into the first period, Dartmouth attacked Yale goalkeeper Kyla Holmes ’27. Despite pressure from the opposition, Holmes maintained the sanctity of her goal, making three saves in just the first period, keeping the Big Green at zero. Although just a sophomore, Holmes has started more games for the Bulldogs than any Yalie on the roster and has been a staple for their defense.

At 37:38 in the first period, Tanner Cahalan ’25 scored the first goal of the game on a strike from outside the box, assisted by Ashley Kirschner ’26. This was Cahalan’s second goal of the season. 

The team maintained that lead going into the second period until 56:01, when Dartmouth’s Daisy Granholm pushed past Yale defenders and tied the game, 1–1. 

As the clock dwindled, both teams desperately fought to avoid a tie in their Ivy League opener. 

At 84:29, Ellie Rappole ’25 raced down the far side of the field and shot the ball high over the head of the Big Green goalie, securing the game-winning goal. This was Rappole’s third goal, a total that leads the team.

This marked the team’s third win in a row. 

Martinez told Yale Athletics how impressed she was by the way her team performed.

“I am so proud of our team for this result,” she said. “The first half quality, the second half grit, and finding a way to get three points on the road is a huge accomplishment in this league.”

The Bulldogs match up against the Boston University Terriers (2–6–3, 2–0–1 Patriot) on Tuesday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. at Reese Stadium in New Haven.  

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At the six minute mark, Aydin Jay ’26 took the Bulldogs’ first shot on goal, but the Sacred Heart goalkeeper found the save to keep the game scoreless. The game would remain that way for another 30 minutes until TJ Presthus ’25 headed a corner kick from Jonathan Seidman ’25 just inside the far post, giving the Bulldogs the lead. Goalie Chris Edwards ’25 kept the Pioneers scoreless through the rest of the first half, securing the Elis’ 1–0 lead going into the second period of play.

Following the half, Joseph Farouz ’27 worked his way through the Sacred Heart defense before passing the ball over to fellow sophomore, Simon Adjakple ’27, who swiftly found the back of the net, extending the Bulldogs’ lead to 2–0. 

The Pioneers answered only 10 minutes later, with a goal off a rebound that snuck past Edwards, thinning the Bulldogs’ lead to 2–1.

The Bulldogs on offense, however, were not finished. Fifteen minutes later Farouz fired a shot past the Pioneer’s goalie, extending the Elis lead to 3–1. Five minutes after that, Jay slotted a low shot into the goal, with the SHU goalie diving, but failing to grab the ball. This cemented a 4–1 lead and was Jay’s first career goal.

At the 81 minute mark, the Pioneers attempted to strike back, but goalie Edwards put a stop to it, and the game saw no more goals. The Bulldogs won decisively, securing their first win after four losses and one tie to start the rocky season.

“We definitely needed a night like this, and seeing the results of our work as a team will propel us into more solid performances, I know it,” Jay wrote to the News.

Yale now leads the series with SHU 6–3–3, and the win broke the Pioneers four game winning streak. Yale’s first goal marked the first time the Pioneers had allowed a goal in over 400 minutes, with SHU previously shutting out their last four opponents.

When asked about takeaways they can apply to upcoming Ivy League play, Alex Umana  ’26 replied, “We’ve learned that no game will be handed to us, regardless of the opponent. It takes hard work, and every match is physical.The team understands that if we mentally prepare and give our all for 90 minutes, we’ll be ready for our Ivy opener against Cornell at home.”

The Bulldogs mounted an away campaign against Quinnipiac (2–4–1) on Tuesday, Sept. 24, before beginning Ivy League play against Cornell (4–0–2) on Saturday, Sept. 28, on home turf at Reese Stadium.

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In a 2–1 game, the Bulldogs secured their fifth win of the season, ahead of the team’s game against Dartmouth on Sep. 28 for its first Ivy League match. 

Coming off a win against Seton Hall on Sep. 14, Yale was looking to build momentum before their first Ivy League game. On the other hand, Sacred Heart hoped to come out with their first win of the season. 

The Bulldogs quickly settled into their style of play having ease playing from the back and controlling the center of the pitch. The team was able to control the first half of the game thanks to its aggressive high press. 

From each Sacred Heart goal kick, to every lost possession, the team sought to unsettle the opponent’s back line which had trouble advancing the ball with control. 

“Defensively we constantly say — we will defend less if we win the ball back as quickly and if not, we need to get numbers behind the ball and be physical with runners,” Coach Sarah Martinez told the News. 

With the Bulldogs’ pressing strategy playing out well, the Bulldogs were able to link up in the middle third comfortably. Still, it wasn’t until the 44th minute that Yale got a great chance on net. 

Ellie Rappolle ’25 was tackled in the box for a penalty. With two goals and two assists in the season, Rappolle added another goal to her tally, shooting left and sending the goalie in the wrong direction. The Bulldogs soared into the lead. 

Yale started strong in the second half ramping up their shot attempts. The Bulldogs aimed to increase their lead by producing two dangerous shots and having a goal ruled out for offside within five minutes. As they sustained their offensive plays, the team comfortably handled Sacred Heart attacks, mainly consisting of long ball attempts through the middle. 

However, in the 57th minute, Sacred Heart found an equalizer through Morgan Bovardi who finished a well-played sequence that started from the back.

The Elis quickly responded. Four minutes after Yale conceded the goal, Andie Miller ’27 returned the lead by scoring her first collegiate goal. Miller headed the ball into the top left corner from a lofted corner kick by Alanna Butcher ’25. 

“As a center back I never really get chances on goal so it was surreal to score my first collegiate goal,” Miller told the News. “Alanna Butcher played me a perfect ball and I was just able to jump up and head it in. I’m just happy I was able to contribute to a much-deserved win.” 

From there on, Yale stayed in control of the game as they limited Sacred Heart to four shots in the second half compared to their eleven attempts. 

Martinez told the News that she was happy with the team’s performance.

“I thought we created some quality chances and showcased our identity and brand of soccer,” she added. “We are at our best when we are able to press teams and I think we showcased that in many stretches of last night’s game.”

The women’s soccer team displayed a confident and controlled performance. Their next game is at Dartmouth on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m., against a team that Martinez described as “organized” and “difficult to break down.” 

The upcoming game against Dartmouth will be available to watch on ESPN+.

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