NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Weather conditions were less than ideal for lacrosse Saturday afternoon, but the No. 14 Yale women's lacrosse team has shown the ability to handle adversity of all kinds so far this season. Amidst the cold, and the wind, and the rain, the Bulldogs held off an upstart Dartmouth squad at Reese Stadium for an 11-9 win that kept Yale undefeated at home (5-0). Senior attacker
Olivia Penoyer had a pair of assists, tying the school career assist record (86) set by
Laura Karmatz '95.
The hail that had fallen earlier in the day had subsided by the time the game started, but there was a steady rain throughout the game. Yale (7-2, 2-0 Ivy League) fell behind 2-0 but eventually rallied to take a 3-2 lead.
Dartmouth (2-5, 0-2 Ivy League) then tied the game 3-3 heading into the second quarter, which was when the Bulldogs began taking control. They scored five of the first six goals of the quarter – with four different players scoring. The teams then traded goals in the final 4:21, getting the score to 9-5 Yale at halftime.
The weather conditions made catching and throwing adventurous at times, and offense was hard to come by in the second half. The Bulldogs brought in sophomore goalkeeper
Cami Donadio in relief of junior
Luanna Summer, who had gamely helped Yale to wins in the previous two games – her first career starts. Donadio would go on to play a critical role, making four saves in 30 minutes.
After Dartmouth crept within 9-6 by scoring the first goal of the third quarter, a great individual effort by sophomore midfielder
Fallon Vaughn – driving past five defenders for a goal – got Yale's lead back to four. Vaughn then set up Penoyer for a rocket from just outside the eight-meter arc that beat Big Green keeper Gisele Todd low 23 seconds before the end of the quarter.
Dartmouth chipped away at the lead in the fourth, getting within 11-8 with 4:26 to play. But a caused turnover and ground ball by first-year defender
Emmy Pascal ended the Big Green's next possession, and by the time Dartmouth scored again there were only 94 seconds left in the game. Donadio made one final save with just over a minute to play, and senior defender
Emily Clorite got the ground ball that enabled Yale to run out the clock.
Vaughn and sophomore attacker
Jenna Collignon finished with hat tricks for Yale, while Penoyer had a pair of goals. Sophomore midfielder
Taylor Lane, sophomore midfielder
Sophie Straka and senior midfielder
Payton Vaughn also scored.
Fallon Vaughn had a team-best three assists, to go along with Penoyer's two.
Pascal finished with three caused turnovers and three ground balls, season highs for her.
Fallon Vaughn led Yale with six draw controls, while Straka had five ground balls.
Combined with last season's
12-9 win in Hanover, Yale has now beaten Dartmouth in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2014-15 and just the second time since winning three in a row from 2006 through 2008.
Yale, Brown and No. 24 Penn are now the only teams that are 2-0 in Ivy League play. The Bears are up next for the Bulldogs, with the two teams set to meet next Saturday at noon in Providence.
