Yale Edges Howard 2-1

October 18, 2017

The Bulldogs turned in another dominant performance Wednesday night at Howard. And this time they were rewarded. Keri Cavallo and Aerial Chavarin scored as Yale earned an impressive 2-1 victory over Howard in Washington, D.C.

The Bulldogs were coming off a scoreless tie with Cornell on Saturday in a game in which they had the far better of the play, outshooting the Big Red 28-5. The final numbers were similar against the Bison. Yale fired 30 shots at the Howard goal and yielded only 13.

And fortunately, the Bulldogs didn’t have to wait long for one to find the back of the net. Cavallo scored her first goal of the season at 12:02, assisted by Kristi Wharton.

“It was very important to score that first goal,” said Yale head coach Rudy Meredith. “It was a boost to our confidence. We always seem to settle down once we score.”

It took a while, but Yale added the all-important second goal midway through the second half when Chavarin scored off an assist from Carlin Hudson.

Howard goalkeeper Gabrille Emilien was outstanding, finishing with 19 saves. Her strong play kept the Bulldogs from adding a third goal.

“She played unbelievable,” Meredith said of Emilien. “We needed that third goal to kill off the game, and we couldn’t get it.”

That led to some anxious moments late after Howard’s Nolle McCullom scored on a penalty kick at 86:30. Yale, though, limited the Bison to only one shot the rest of the way.

Goalkeepers Alyssa Fagel and Maritza Grillo combined to make eight saves.

The Bulldogs (9-3-2) are now unbeaten in their last four games.

Howard (7-9) entered the night having won five of its last six games.

This was the final non-conference game of the season for Yale, which plays at Penn on Saturday at 4 p.m.