Penn field hockey shuts out Yale to keep Ivy championship hopes alive

The Red and Blue are doing all they can to remain relevant in the championship conversation. 

With its chances of winning an Ivy League title on the line, Penn field hockey was able to secure a huge win against Yale by a 2-0 score in New Haven, Conn. Reminiscent of last year’s match against the Bulldogs (7-7, 2-3 Ivy), the first half was largely a defensive battle, with both teams making plays when it mattered. 

Despite a scoreless first half, the Quakers (8-7, 4-1) outplayed Yale, outshooting them nine to three while forcing three penalty corners in the first half. 

In the second half, the Red and Blue were able to capitalize on their fourth penalty corner of the afternoon. Sophomore back Reese Vogel passed to junior forward Alexa Schneck, who found the goal for the first score of the game in the 48th minute. 

“We decided to do a give and go between me and Reese,” Schneck said. “I just happened to have a wide open shot, which was really nice. She set me up very nicely for that goal.” 

Although the one goal is all the Quakers would need, Schneck added an assist on a goal by sophomore forward Erin Quinn, her second goal of the season. That goal in the 54th minute sealed the win for the Red and Blue, as the clock began to wind down and the defense continued to keep the Elis scoreless.

“We’ve really worked on just putting the pedal down even more and just really trying to get another goal,” Schneck said. “We knew Yale was going to come out with fire after we scored the first and second goal...Our defense did a phenomenal job of staying composed and being confident in our skills.”

The importance of this game was not overlooked by the Quakers, as they knew what a win against an Ivy opponent meant for their team.

“We also knew it was kind of a do-or-die moment, like we knew that in order to remain in contention for the Ivy League championship, we really needed to win this game,” Schneck said. “We definitely were in an intense mindset...this was a bit more pressure compared to other games.”

The Red and Blue hope to ride the momentum from this win throughout the end of the season. At 4-1 in Ivy play, Penn is currently tied for second in the conference with Princeton. Harvard remains at the top at 5-0.

“Any win in the Ivy is great,” Schneck said. “This definitely gives us the momentum we need going forward to Brown next week.”  

Penn will continue its quest to win out as they return back home for their last home game of the season and senior day against Brown (6-8, 1-4).