“After the second goal they scored, we gathered the team on the field and there was no doubt, no disappointment and lack of confidence,” Ashby said Sunday. “We had full confidence we were going to come back and win that game.”

The improved defense will be a key focus against a Yale squad that has struggled to score goals this year. The winless Bulldogs have found the back of the net only three times in eight games and just once in their last six.

After finishing last season by scoring six goals in its final three games, the Bulldogs have not yet scored twice in one game this year.

Led by Ashby, Lehrer has said he has full faith in this unit.

“They have done a great job all year,” Lehrer said. “Mark, for such a big guy, moves very well and is really an elite defender.”

Co-captain Kyle Henderson said that the team’s energy is completely focused on handling the Bulldogs this Saturday.

Henderson noted that the Crimson has viewed the season one game at a time, and that even its larger goals—as Chang noted Tuesday, the team’s ultimate goal is to win the national championship—cannot be achieved in any one game, but by taking each game in the schedule at a time.

“Our main goal right now is winning our next game against Yale,” Henderson said. “After that, our next goal will be to beat who we play next. We don’t set a big goal or anything other than winning our last game of the year. Hopefully, our last game of the year is the final game of the year for college soccer. But for now, [the focus] is just winning the next game.”

Staff writer David Freed can be reached at david.freed@thecrimson.com.