NEW HAVEN, Conn. – There was certainly a lot to like for the Yale men's soccer team in its season opener. The Bulldogs dominated both play and possession and created numerous scoring chances. The result, though, was bittersweet. Yale settled for a 1-1 draw with Saint Francis on a gorgeous late afternoon at Reese Stadium.
The Bulldogs outshot the Red Flash 21-4 and had a 13-1 edge in corner kicks.
Saint Francis (1-1-1) scored first late in the first half when a Yale turnover resulted in a 2-on-1. Maximus Rigby sent a cross to Milan Djajic, who left-footed a shot into the back of the net with just 36 seconds remaining before halftime.
It was one of very few scoring threats for the Red Flash in the 90 minutes of action.
Yale continued its strong play in the second half and got the equalizer at 62:27 off a corner kick.
Max Rogers sent a cross into the box that deflected to
TJ Presthus, who banged it in from right in front.
The Bulldogs kept the pressure on over the final 27 minutes but couldn't find the winner.
Saint Francis goalkeeper Jordaine Jaeger had a strong game, finishing with 10 saves. He also got help from the post and crossbar as Yale narrowly missed adding another goal on numerous occasions.
Eric Lagos and
Paolo Carroll both created quite a bit of danger for the Bulldogs, who are back in action on Monday when they play at Rutgers. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. in New Jersey.
"Looking at the entirety of the 90 minutes, we did a lot of good things and created some top class chances that we needed to put away," said
Kylie Stannard, The 5K Corral Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "Their goalkeeper had some excellent saves and we hit the woodwork four times as well. We certainly didn't get a lot to go our way today but I also think we put ourselves in a tough situation to have to chase the game in the second half and allowed SFU to play even more conservatively. We responded well to the sloppiness at the end of the first half and I'm pleased overall with the guys about their second half performance. We need to make sure we are more disciplined and focused on the details, but this result will give us some important lessons for the rest of the season."
