<p>Hayley Zevenbergen provides leadership and experience on defense.Of course, when a sideline debate on the nature of racism in America breaks out during a practice scrimmage, you're reminded that kids at Yale generally tend to have a good handle on the whole lesson-learning concept. </p>
<p>The opening weekend wasn't especially kind to Yale. Hosting the Yale Classic at Reese Stadium in New Haven, the Bulldogs dropped games against national powers Duke and North Carolina by 3-0 and 4-0 scores, respectively. It turns out that while the academic calendar at Yale may open with a two-week "shopping" period that allows students to ease into rigorous classwork, the soccer schedule offers no such breaks. </p>
<p>"You learn a lot, that's the reason that you play those teams," coach Rudy Meredith said on Monday. And while the coach admitted that he hadn't really slept, let alone stopped thinking about the games since the final whistle against the Tar Heels the previous day, the solace comes in the lessons offered by losses. </p>
<p>At least, that's what the coaches hope will come out of the setbacks. </p>
<p>"I think if they go out of that game saying, 'Well, they got a lucky goal here and we did this,' and make excuses, then they gain nothing out of it," said Bob Dikranian, Meredith's coach at Southern Connecticut and a special assistant to his old pupil this season at Yale. "If they realize what they did, by what we saw on film and what [Meredith] says and maybe a couple of things I brought up, and they see it and they say, 'Yeah, we need to improve on that,' then I think playing teams like that, the objective was to play against a good team, I think there is great value to that...</p>