NEW HAVEN, Conn. – For the first time this young season, Yale faced a bit of adversity in Tuesday’s game with Sacred Heart. The team responded just like head coach Rudy Meredith hoped it would. Sarah Jordan’s goal with less than eight minutes left in the second half snapped a 2-2 tie and lifted the Bulldogs to a 3-2 win on a rainy night at Reese Stadium.

Yale, which has won its first three games of the season for the second straight year, rallied after twice squandering a lead.

“We never gave up and really fought hard,” Meredith said. “I knew it would be a tough game. Sacred Heart played very well. They battled us hard and put us under pressure.”

It took a magical moment from Jordan for the Bulldogs to escape with the win. Sarah McCauley deflected a Kristina Kim throw in to Jordan just outside the box. Jordan then rifled a shot into the top corner past a helpless Nicole Sambuco, Sacred Heart’s goalkeeper.

“There isn’t a goalkeeper in the world that could have made that save,” Meredith said of the highlight reel goal.

Jordan, a first-year player, has an impressive resume. She was a two-time New Jersey all-state selection at Mahwah High School and played in the 2016 High School All-American game last year.

“Sarah’s always been strong offensively,” Meredith said. “That’s why we recruited her.”

The goal was the second of her young Yale career. She also scored in Sunday’s win over Delaware State.

Jordan was one of a number of players that contributed off the bench. With the Bulldogs playing their third game in five days, the depth was very much needed.

“Our bench had to come in and do the job,” Meredith said. “This win was really a team effort.”

Yale jumped on board first late in the first half when Carlin Hudson deflected in a nifty Keri Cavallo cross at 37:17.

The Pioneers (0-3) got a pretty goal to tie it early in the second half. Caitlin Buckley sent a perfect free kick into the box that Kim McNally deflected home at 63:30.

The Bulldogs regained the lead at 75:02 when Sarah McCauley settled a Ciara Ostrander cross at the top of the box and fired a shot through a screen past Sambucco.

The lead, though, was short lived. SHU’s Melanie DaSilva scored less than two minutes later to tie the score at 2-2.

The Bulldogs outshot the Pioneers 16-7 and finished with an 8-4 edge in corner kicks.

Alyssa Fagel made two saves to earn her second victory of the season in goal.

Yale is back in action on Friday, hosting the University of Miami at 7 p.m.

“We need to get some rest and recovery to be ready for a good ACC opponent,” Meredith said.

Report filed by Tim Bennett (timothy.bennett@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity