NEW HAVEN, Conn. – It was just the first weekend of March, but it felt like a game that would have implications into May. The teams who finished No. 1 (Princeton) and No. 2 (Yale) in the Ivy League women's lacrosse standings last year met Saturday afternoon in the Ivy League opener at Reese Stadium. For Yale it was an opportunity for the breakthrough the Bulldogs have been seeking recently, having finished one game behind the Ivy champion Tigers last year and having fallen to them in the Ivy League Tournament championship game. This time around Yale left nothing to chance, grabbing an early 6-1 lead, withstanding a four-goal Princeton run midway through the game, and finishing off with a 15-10 victory. It was Yale's first win vs. the Tigers since 2007.
"I am so proud of our women today," said
Erica Bamford, Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse. "To say it was a total team effort would be an understatement. They compete every day in preparation for our opponents, especially in our formidable league."
Yale (3-1, 1-0 Ivy League) made a statement in the game's opening minutes, scoring four times in the first 2:26 – and getting the game's first three draw controls. A timeout by Princeton just 1:43 into the game did little to slow the Bulldogs, who eventually got the lead to 6-1 thanks to goals from six different players.
The last of those six goals came from sophomore attacker
Jenna Collignon, at 4:35 of the first, and by then the themes of the day had been established. Collignon would go on to score a career-high six goals, tacking on one assist for a career-high seven points. But seven other Bulldogs wound up scoring as well, putting Yale's offensive depth on full display. Yale also finished with a 22-6 advantage in draw controls, led by nine from sophomore midfielder
Sky Carrasquillo. Sophomore midfielder
Taylor Lane added six DCs and sophomore midfielder
Fallon Vaughn had four.
"
Sky Carrasquillo,
Fallon Vaughn and
Taylor Lane did an exceptional job controlling the draw circle -- a unit entirely coached by [assistant coach]
Molly Palella," said Bamford. "Our balanced attack was able to capitalize on those opportunities, led by
Jenna Collignon with six goals."
That was more than enough for senior goalkeeper
Clare Boone, who finished with six saves. Princeton (2-2, 0-1 Ivy League), limited to its second-lowest shot total (27) in its last 10 games dating back to last year, got within two thanks to a 4-0 run that brought the score to 9-7 Yale with 9:01 to play in the third. But two goals by Collignon in a span of 45 seconds halted the Tigers' momentum.
"[Assistant coach]
Colleen Smith did an excellent job preparing our defense for Princeton's talented offensive group," said Bamford. "The senior leadership of [captain and midfielder]
Payton Vaughn, [defender]
Emily Clorite and
Clare Boone was the key to our defensive success."
Up 11-8 heading into the fourth, the Bulldogs finished strong by outscoring Princeton 4-2 in the final frame. They swarmed the field to celebrate the win after the final seconds ticked off.
In addition to Collignon, first-year midfielder
Bella Saviano had a hat trick, and six Bulldogs had one goal each: Lane, sophomore attacker
Caroline Burt, junior attacker
Bri Carrasquillo, senior attacker
Olivia Penoyer, sophomore midfielder
Sophie Straka and
Fallon Vaughn. Penoyer led the team with three assists, while Burt,
Bri Carrasquillo, Collignon and Straka had one each.
Sophomore defender
Marymegan Wright had a team-best four ground balls, while Clorite led with three caused turnovers and added two ground balls. Yale was 17-for-18 on clears.
This was Princeton's first Ivy League loss since Mar. 23, 2019 (12-11 vs. Brown). Prior to Saturday the Tigers had not lost a league game by five or more goals since falling 17-12 to then-No. 10 Penn Apr. 19, 2017.
"We have a tough schedule ahead and a lot of season left, but I am very pleased with the start of our Ivy play," said Bamford.
The Bulldogs return to action Monday night at 6:30 p.m., hosting Central Connecticut State.
