NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The result was not exactly what he was looking for, but Yale head coach Brian Tompkins was pleased with much of what he saw in Friday’s opener against Sacred Heart. The Bulldogs had by far the better scoring chances but were forced to settle for a 1-1 tie on a hot and humid late afternoon at Reese Stadium.

Yale found itself trailing 1-0 late in the second half, but Henry Flugstad-Clarke scored his first career goal with 5:19 left to tie it.

“I was really pleased with the way we stayed the course,” Tompkins said. “We persisted when we got down and created a lot of good chances. We hit three posts in the first half so we could have been ahead three or four to one.”

The Bulldogs finished with just a 19-18 edge in shots, but a good a number of the Pioneers’ attempts came from long range, including their one goal. Mahmoud Kafel settled a long pass from Chris Caneiro, took a couple of dribbles and fired a shot just inside the near post from 25 yards out midway through the second half.

Yale had much more consistent pressure inside the SHU box.

It finally paid off when Flugstad-Clarke headed in a perfect Henry Albrecht free kick following a Sacred Heart foul.

“It was a nice set piece,” Tompkins said. “Henry was very brave to stick his head in there. It was a really nice finish, and it came at the right time because we really needed it.”

Neither team created much pressure in the two 10-minute overtime periods.

Henos Musie and Albrecht both hit the post in the first half and the game was scoreless after 45 minutes.

Tompkins got a look at a number of different players on opening night. Nineteen different Bulldogs saw action, including six freshmen.

“There were times we had five or six freshmen on the field at the same time, and I thought they were terrific,” Tompkins said. “They learned a lot.”

The Pioneers, who were playing their fourth game of the season, were forced to go the final 42 minutes with 10 players after Giancarlo Maurello was issued a red card in the second half.

Sophomore Ryan Simpson made only his second career start in goal for the Bulldogs and made six saves.

The Bulldogs are back in action on Tuesday when they host Iona at 7 p.m. at Reese.