Yale Tops Dartmouth In Overtime

October 12, 2013

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Another Saturday night. Another dramatic victory for the Yale men’s soccer team.

Cameron Kirdzik scored with 3:04 left in the second overtime to lift the Bulldogs to a thrilling 1-0 victory over Dartmouth before another enthusiastic crowd at Reese Stadium.

Yale had scored twice in the final 2:15 to knock off Harvard 2-1 last Saturday night at Reese.

“We’re the cardiac kids,” said Yale head coach Brian Tompkins. “Once again our persistence paid off, and we were able to find a game-winner.”

For the second straight week, fans came on the field to celebrate the victory.

The Bulldogs, who are 2-0 in the Ivy League for the second time in the last three years, dominated the Big Green. Yale had an 8-1 edge in shots in the first half and finished the game with a commanding 23-7 advantage.

Still, it took nearly 107 minutes before Yale finally broke through. The winning play came off a free kick. Henos Musie sent a cross that was punched away by Dartmouth goalkeeper James Hickok right to Henry Albrecht. Albrecht sent a shot towards goal that Kirdzik redirected inside the post.

It was the third goal of the season for Kirdzik and came on his seventh shot of the night.

“Cameron plays with no fear,” Tompkins said. “Good things are going to happen when he is around the goal.”

Yale also got an excellent defensive effort. Goalkeeper Blake Brown made three saves to earn the win, and he had plenty of support in front of him.

“Our back four were outstanding,” Tompkins said.

Brown’s best save came midway through the first overtime when he dove to his left to get just enough of a Patrick Murray header to push it wide.

The shutout was the first of the season for the Bulldogs.

Yale had numerous opportunities to win it in regulation. The best chance came late in the second half when Kirdzik sent a long ball forward to Avery Schwartz, who got off a hard shot that Hickok smothered.

“I was really pleased with how we played,” Tompkins said. “We moved the ball well and created a lot of opportunities. We deserved the result.”

The Bulldogs will look to get to 3-0 in Ivy play when they host Cornell next Saturday at 3:30 p.m.