The Bears continued their great form this weekend, defeating Yale 3-1 Saturday in New Haven.
Bruno (7-6-3, 3-1-2 Ivy) scored twice in the opening 10 minutes to gain an insurmountable lead over the Bulldogs (4-10-2, 2-2-2). The victory is the Bears’ fourth in a row and gives the squad sole possession of third place in the Ivy League, a ranking for which the team was previously tied.
Tariq Akeel ’16 led Bruno’s attack from the start, netting the first of his two goals just five minutes in. A long kick from Jose Salama ’14 bounced over the Bulldog backline and found Akeel, who nodded the ball past the keeper to give his team an early 1-0 advantage.
“It was great to get on the scoreboard early,” said co-captain Josh Weiner ’14. “We took advantage of our opportunities. … We took three shots on target in the first half and scored all of them.”
Akeel struck again just four minutes later, this time thanks to a feed from Jack Gorab ’16. Gorab whipped in a cross from a set piece, and Akeel again headed the ball on frame to double his side’s lead 2-0. Akeel leads the Bears in scoring this season with six goals.
The Bulldogs did not go down easily, managing to get a goal back in the 36th minute against the run of play. A through ball into the box was put home by Cameron Kirdzik to cut the Bears’ lead in half.
Bruno again found the net three minutes later to conclude a high-scoring first half. Voltaire Escalona ’14 threaded a pass through the Yale defense to Gorab, who calmly slotted home his shot to push the Bears’ lead back to two goals before the halftime whistle.
The Bulldogs applied heavy pressure to the Bruno defense in the second half, registering 10 shots to Bruno’s one and earning three corner kicks. Weiner only had to make one save to preserve his team’s lead for the victory.
“We did a great job defensively,” Weiner said. “We limited them to shots outside the box from longer distance and bad angles, so they couldn’t get any on frame.”
The Bears move on to their final match of the season against Dartmouth (5-7-4, 0-6) Saturday at Stevenson Field. The team looks to earn its fifth win in a row.
“It feels great to win four in a row,” Weiner said. “But we’re getting back to work this week. We’re excited for our Senior Day, and our last opportunity in the Ivy League. … We definitely want to put a good performance in.”
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