PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Five players had hat tricks, the defense limited Brown to just three goals in the final 41:47, and a school individual career record fell. It was a thoroughly impressive day for the No. 14 Yale women's lacrosse team at Brown Saturday. The Bulldogs broke open a 4-3 game with a 5-0 run to end the first half, then cruised to an 18-6 win that makes Yale the only team that is 3-0 in Ivy League play. Senior attacker
Olivia Penoyer had four assists, including one at the 12:21 mark of the second that gave her 87 for her career – breaking the school record of 86 that was set by
Laura Karmatz '95 28 years ago.
The game began in a pouring rain, much like the one the Bulldogs faced in last Saturday's win vs. Dartmouth – except this time around temperatures were about 20 degrees warmer. Yale (8-2, 3-0 Ivy League) jumped out to a 4-2 lead, with the fourth goal coming after a Brown turnover in the Yale zone led to a fast break. Penoyer came charging down the left side before firing the ball across to junior attacker
Bri Carrasquillo right in front of the net for a quick stick goal. That was Penoyer's school record-setting 87th assist, but she and the Bulldogs were far from done.
Brown (5-5, 2-1 Ivy League) answered with a goal at 11:47 of the second to get within 4-3, but that would be the last time the game was that close. Sophomore midfielder
Sophie Straka's goal at 10:55 jump-started a 5-0 Yale run to end the first half. Straka had two of those goals, sophomore attacker
Jenna Collignon had two and Carrasquillo added one.
The Bears scored the first goal of the third quarter, but Yale reeled off seven of the game's next eight goals and got the game to running time early in the fourth. After one more Brown goal, sophomore midfielder
Fallon Vaughn scored twice in the final 2:36 for the 18-6 final.
Following the game the team celebrated not just the win, but Penoyer's record. She has been a staple in the Yale lineup since her first year, 2019, and despite having her sophomore season cut short by the COVID pandemic she has been able to make her mark in the Yale record book. Penoyer had 37 assists last season, six shy of Karmatz' single-season school record (set in 1994).
Carrasquillo and Collignon finished with four goals each, while Straka, Vaughn and first-year midfielder
Bella Saviano also had hat tricks. Straka shot 3-for-3 and became the ninth different Bulldog with at least one hat trick this year. Sophomore midfielder
Taylor Lane also scored for Yale. In addition to Penoyer's four assists, Collignon had three while Carrasquillo, Lane and Vaughn had one each.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Cami Donadio shined in her first start of the season. Her eight saves tied the season high for any Yale goalie. Straka led the team in ground balls with three.
This was Yale's largest margin of victory in an Ivy League game since beating Columbia 18-3 Apr. 14, 2003. This was also the most goals and most assists in a game for Yale since Apr. 23, 2022 (a 24-14 win vs. Columbia).
Brown, No. 23 Penn and Yale had entered the day as the league's only 2-0 teams. The Bulldogs thus become the first league team to make it to 3-0, as Penn does not play a league game until next Saturday – when the Quakers host the Bulldogs.
Yale visits No. 13 Army on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. The Black Knights improved to 11-0 with a win vs. American on Saturday.
