NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The NCAA Tournament continues Thursday for the No. 6 Yale women's lacrosse team. The Bulldogs visit No. 3 Syracuse in the quarterfinal round (2:30 p.m.,
ESPNU,
ESPN+,
Live Stats,
Tickets). The winner advances to the semifinals May 24 in Cary, N.C.
Last Game
Yale (17-2, 7-0 Ivy League)
beat No. 11 Johns Hopkins 9-7 Sunday afternoon at Reese Stadium in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. After JHU went ahead 6-5 with 3:20 left in the third quarter, the Bulldogs allowed only one more Blue Jay goal. The offense took care of the rest, scoring four times to deliver a 9-7 win.
Yale's NCAA Tournament History
| Date |
Result |
Opponent |
Yale Score |
Opp. Score |
OT |
Site |
Round |
| May 9, 1984 |
Loss |
UMass |
5 |
6 |
OT |
New Haven, Conn. |
1st Round |
| May 8, 2003 |
Win |
Syracuse |
12 |
7 |
|
New Haven, Conn. |
1st Round |
| May 11, 2003 |
Loss |
Loyola (Md.) |
7 |
13 |
|
Baltimore, Md. |
Quarterfinal |
| May 19, 2007 |
Loss |
Maryland |
7 |
13 |
|
College Park, Md. |
1st Round |
| May 10, 2024 |
Win |
Binghamton |
17 |
4 |
|
New Haven, Conn. |
1st Round |
| May 12, 2024 |
Win |
Johns Hopkins |
9 |
7 |
|
New Haven, Conn. |
2nd Round |
| May 16, 2024 |
|
Syracuse |
|
|
|
Syracuse, N.Y. |
Quarterfinal |
Exceeding Expectations
When the 2024 season began, Yale had been picked third in the Ivy League Preseason Poll and was among the teams receiving votes in the ILWomen/IWLCA Preseason National Poll – not in the top 25. The Bulldogs wound up going undefeated in Ivy League play and winning the Ivy League Tournament, and they are currently ranked No. 6 in the ILWomen/IWLCA National Poll.
#OneIvy
With No. 9 Penn and Yale both advancing, the Ivy League is one of three conferences with multiple teams in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Here is the breakdown:
- 3 Big Ten (Maryland, Michigan, Northwestern)
- 2 ACC (Boston College, Syracuse)
- 2 Ivy League (Penn, Yale)
- 1 AAC (Florida)
Upstate Bulldogs
Yale's roster includes 10 players from the state of New York. While most of them are from Long Island, two are from the Syracuse region:
- Senior midfielder Ana Dieroff (Fayetteville, N.Y./Jamesville DeWitt)
- Team was state semi-finalists in her junior and senior seasons
- All-American and All-CNY in 2019
- Led team in scoring as a junior and senior
- Senior midfielder Anna Vetsch (Marcellus, N.Y./Marcellus)
- Team was 2017 league champions
- All-CNY 2019
- First team all-league 2018 and 2019
Additionally,
Erica Bamford, Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse, was born and raised in Syracuse and is a graduate of Christian Brothers Academy. In 2022 she was inducted into the Upstate Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
Collignon, Vaughn Earn USA Lacrosse All-America Honors
Yale had two individuals honored by USA Lacrosse last week as the organization announced its All-America awards:
- Junior midfielder Fallon Vaughn (Concord, Mass.) was named third team All-America
- Junior attacker Jenna Collignon (Hinsdale, Ill.) was named honorable mention All-America
This is the second straight season Yale has had at least one player honored as a USA Lacrosse All-American. Last year,
Olivia Penoyer '23 was an honorable mention USA Lacrosse All-America selection.
Ivy League Title History
With a
21-8 win at Cornell Apr. 20, Yale clinched at least a share of the 2024 Ivy League Championship. The Bulldogs then won the title outright for the first time in school history by
beating Columbia 15-8 Apr. 27 at Reese Stadium to finish with a 7-0 Ivy League record.
The Bulldogs have won the Ivy League title two other times:
- 1980 (4-0-2 in Ivy League play, shared title with Penn)
- 2003 (6-1 in Ivy League play, shared title with Dartmouth and Princeton)
Yale's Best
Yale's 17 wins this season are the Bulldogs' most in a season in program history. The previous record for wins in a season was 14 (1978, 1979, 1995, 1999, 2003).
Defense Among Best in the Nation
Yale ranks second nationally in scoring defense (7.79 goals allowed per game). Michigan (7.21 goals allowed per game) leads the nation.
Collignon Hits 60
Junior attacker
Jenna Collignon (Hinsdale, Ill.) scored her 60th goal of the season last Friday. In doing so, she became the first Bulldog to reach the 60 goal mark since
Lauren Taylor '08 scored 65 in 2007. The Yale single-season record for goals is 72, set by
Tracy Ball '81 in 1979. Collignon now has 64 goals, fourth-best on Yale's single-season list.
Fourth Quarter Comebacks
Yale has trailed in the fourth quarter only four times this season – and twice the Bulldogs have rallied to win those games.
| Opponent |
Largest 4Q Deficit |
Final |
| Feb. 17 Stanford |
Trailed by 3 w/14:16 left |
W, 13-12 |
| Apr. 3 at BC |
Trailed by 8 three times |
L, 8-16 |
| Apr. 12 vs. Denver |
Trailed by 2 w/12:02 left |
L, 11-12 |
| May 5 vs. Penn |
Trailed by 4 w/9:09 left |
W, 10-9 OT |
Grounded
Yale has won the ground ball battle in 15 of 19 games, and in two other games the Bulldogs were tied with their opponent in ground balls. For the season, Yale is +80 in ground balls.
Iron Women
Nine field players have started all 19 games of the season to date:
Carrasquillo, Collignon, Lane, Vaughn and Wright also started all 17 games last season. Lane and Vaughn have stared all 53 games of their Yale careers.
A Unique Set of Skills
Only one player in the Ivy League has:
- 30+ goals
- 20+ assists
- 55+ points
- 30+ ground balls
- 25+ caused turnovers
AND
- 50+ draw controls
That player is Yale junior midfielder
Fallon Vaughn (Concord, Mass.) (32 goals, 23 assists, 55 points, 33 ground balls, 26 caused turnovers and 51 draw controls).
Reversal of Fortune
So far this season the Bulldogs have played four teams that beat them in 2023, and they have gone 6-0 in those games. Here is the list:
| Opponent |
2023 Result |
2024 Result |
| UConn |
L, 10-11 OT |
W, 17-6 |
| Penn |
L, 6-16 (Apr. 8) and L, 14-15 OT (May 7) |
W, 16-8 (Apr. 7) and W, 10-9 OT (May 5) |
| Harvard |
L, 9-10 |
W, 16-8 (Apr. 13) and W, 14-10 (May 3) |
| Cornell |
L, 12-14 |
W, 21-8 |
Home Sweet Home
Yale ended the season with a 12-0 record at Reese Stadium. The Bulldogs' 12 game home winning streak ranks fifth in the nation right now.
Captain Conaghan
Senior attacker
Chloe Conaghan (Chevy Chase, Md.) was elected captain for this season by her teammates. Conaghan earned the team's Bulldog Award as most improved player last year.
A Veteran Coaching Staff
This is Yale's ninth year under
Erica Bamford, Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse. Assistant coaches
Molly Palella and
Colleen Smith are in their seventh and eighth years, respectively.
NCAA Tournament
NCAA Tournament selections for 2024 were announced Sunday May 5. The 29 team field included 15 automatic qualifiers and 14 at-large selections.
The three top overall seeds earned a first-round bye. The first and second rounds took place at campus sites this past Friday and Sunday. The quarterfinal round takes place at campus sites Thursday. All games are broadcast on ESPNU.
- 12:00 p.m. Florida at No. 4 seed Maryland
- 2:30 p.m. No. 6 seed Yale at No. 3 seed Syracuse
- 5:00 p.m. Michigan at No. 2 seed Boston College
- 7:30 p.m. No. 8 seed Penn at No. 1 seed Northwestern
The semifinals and championship game will be played on May 24 and 26 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.
The winner of the Yale/Syracuse game plays the winner of the Michigan/Boston College game in the semifinals.
Scouting Syracuse
Syracuse (15-5, 8-1 ACC) beat No. 11 Stony Brook 15-10 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday. Since a 13-12 OT loss at home vs. Stony Brook Mar. 5, the Orange has gone 12-2 – with the only two losses coming to Boston College, currently ranked No. 2 in the country. Syracuse ranks No. 7 nationally in draw control percentage (.612) and 11th nationally in scoring offense (15.45 goals per game). Individually, Katelyn Mashewske is third nationally in draw controls per game (10.25)
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