Yale is off to the best start in school history. Michelle Alozie scored twice early in the second half as the Bulldogs rolled to a 2-0 victory over the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.

Yale has won its first six games of a season for the first time.

The game was scoreless after 45 minutes, but the Bulldogs completely dominated the second half, outshooting Pacific 8-1.

“I think you build confidence when you are winning,” said Yale head coach Rudy Meredith. “We struggled a bit in the first half, but we were able to get through it. That’s what good teams do.”

One area where Yale had problems in the opening 45 minutes was staying on side, but Meredith made an adjustment at halftime, and it paid off quite quickly. Just 16 seconds into the second half, Alozie got behind the defense, managing to stay on side, and scored on a breakaway. Meg Byfield tallied the assist.

A little over six minutes later, Alozie struck again. Keri Cavallo made a terrific tackle in the corner, sent a perfect cross into the box, and Alozie finished it.

It was Alozie’s team-leading fifth goal of the season.

Yale’s defense did the rest, keeping the Tigers from earning any serious scoring chances.

“Our back line has been really consistent,” Meredith said. “We’ve been mistake free.”

It was the second straight game where the Bulldogs have picked up their game in the second half. They also made successful adjustments in Monday’s 3-2 overtime win over Hofstra.

“The team has really bought into what we are doing and are willing to sacrifice when we need to make changes,” Meredith said. “Every game is different, and we are good enough to adapt.”

The challenge only gets bigger for the Bulldogs on Sunday when they play at Stanford. The Cardinal is ranked second in the nation and is a perennial NCAA championship contender.

“The kids are really looking forward to it. I was a little worried we would look past [Pacific] to that game, but our kids did a good job tonight,” Meredith said. “No matter what happens [against Stanford] we are going to learn from it.” 

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