NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Call it Yale-Syracuse Round Three. On Sunday at Reese Stadium, for the third time in less than a year, the No. 5 Yale women's lacrosse team takes on the No. 19 Orange (2:00 p.m.,
ESPN+,
Live Stats,
Tickets). This time a berth in the NCAA quarterfinals is at stake. These two teams have gotten quite familiar with each other recently. Syracuse beat the Bulldogs 19-9 in the NCAA quarterfinals last year at the JMA Wireless Dome, and Yale answered with a 13-10 victory in New Haven during the 2025 regular season.
Prior to that 2024 meeting, the teams had not faced each other since May 8, 2003 – a 12-7 Bulldog win at Johnson Field in the NCAA Tournament. That win sent Yale to the quarterfinals.
Yale is the No. 7 seed in the tournament, while Syracuse is unseeded. The Bulldogs won the Ivy League Tournament Championship last weekend, earning the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Last Game
Yale (15-3, 5-2 Ivy League)
beat UAlbany 12-9 in the NCAA Tournament first round Friday. In pouring rain, the Bulldogs rallied from an 8-6 fourth-quarter deficit by scoring four straight goals – including three in a span of 2:31. Senior midfielder
Sky Carrasquillo (Alpharetta, Ga.) put the Bulldogs ahead for good with a goal at the 11:09 mark of the fourth.
Yale's NCAA Tournament History
This is the first time in school history Yale has made the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons.
| Year |
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 |
Loss |
Syracuse |
9 |
19 |
|
Syracuse, N.Y. |
Quarterfinal |
| May 9, 2025 |
Win |
UAlbany |
12 |
9 |
|
New Haven, Conn. |
1st Round |
Scouting Syracuse
Syracuse (10-8, 5-4 ACC) is 2-4 in its last six games, starting with a 13-10 loss to Yale Apr. 2 at Reese Stadium. Attacker Emma Ward is 16th nationally in assists with 45. She was one of three Orange players who recently earned USA Lacrosse All-America honors. Ward and defender Coco Vandiver were honorable mention picks, while midfielder Emma Muchnick was a third-team selection.
Yale-Syracuse Common Opponents
In addition to facing each other in the regular season, Yale and Syracuse had four common opponents – including Stanford, whom Syracuse played twice. The Bulldogs were 2-2 against those opponents, while the Orange was 4-1. Here are the goals for and goals against in each of those games:
| Opponent |
Yale GF |
Yale GA |
Syracuse GF |
Syracuse GA |
| Brown |
11 |
14 |
15 |
9 |
| Cornell |
16 |
15 |
18 |
10 |
| Stanford (1) |
10 |
11 |
14 |
13 |
| Stanford (2) |
n/a |
n/a |
10 |
15 |
| UAlbany |
12 |
9 |
21 |
9 |
| TOTAL GOALS |
49 |
49 |
78 |
56 |
Turn Back the Clock
It has been 22 years since Yale last hosted Syracuse in an NCAA Tournament game.Yale's 12-7 victory in a first-round game on May 8, 2003 at Johnson Field was the first NCAA Tournament win in school history. Back then only 16 teams made the tournament. Yale was ranked No. 9 at the time; Syracuse was No. 10.
Miles Whitman '04, a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award that year, scored four goals.
Clarissa Clarke '03 and
Caroline Petrovick '03 added three goals each.
NCAA Tournament Selections
NCAA Tournament selections for 2025 were announced this past Sunday at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The 29 team field includes 15 automatic qualifiers and 14 at-large selections. Yale earned the Ivy League's automatic berth by winning the Ivy League Tournament last weekend.
NCAA Tournament Seeding, Schedule
The top eight teams in the NCAA Tournament are seeded. The three top overall seeds earned a first-round bye. The remaining 26 teams played first-round games at campus sites Friday. The eight second-round games take place Sunday (between 12:00 and 3:00 p.m.) and are hosted by the top eight seeds. The four quarterfinal-round games take place Thursday, May 15 (12:00 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m., 7:30 p.m.), with the top four remaining seeds hosting.
The semifinals and championship game will be played on Friday, May 23 (3:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.) and Sunday, May 25 (12:00 p.m.) at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.
The eight seeded teams are:
- North Carolina (ACC)
- Boston College (ACC)
- Northwestern (Big Ten)
- Florida (Big 12)
- Virginia (ACC)
- Maryland (Big Ten)
- Yale (Ivy League)
- Johns Hopkins (Big Ten)
Five Bulldogs Earn USA Lacrosse All-America Honors
Yale had five individuals honored by USA Lacrosse earlier this week as the organization announced its All-America selections.
Two Bulldogs earned second team All-America honors:
Three Bulldogs were named honorable mention All-America:
Six Bulldogs Honored by Ivy League
Yale had six individuals honored by the Ivy League last week as the league announced its annual awards.
Three Bulldogs earned first team All-Ivy League recognition:
Two Bulldogs earned second team All-Ivy recognition:
Senior midfielder
Sophie Straka (Chatham, N.J.) was named Academic All-Ivy League.
Home Field Advantage
Yale is 20-1 at Reese Stadium since the start of the 2024 season. That includes two wins in last season's NCAA Tournament and one this year.
Among Yale's Best
Yale's 15 wins this season are second-most in school history. The school record for wins in a season is 17, set last year.
That Was Close
Yale is 3-1 in games decided by one goal this season, with wins in each of the last three. In games decided by three goals or fewer, the Bulldogs are 5-3 – with wins in each of the last five.
Defense Among Best in the Nation
Through May 9 Yale ranks No. 4 nationally in scoring defense (8.33 goals allowed per game). No. 1 North Carolina (6.67 goals allowed per game) leads the nation.
A Decisive Shot Advantage
Yale has outshot its opponents 613-371 this season, an average margin of +13.4 shots per game.
Clearly Better
Yale is 298 for 317 (.940, sixth in the nation) on clears and has limited its opponents to a 283 for 337 (.840) performance on clears.
Seniors Honored
Yale honored its senior class (16 people) after the Cornell game. The members of the senior class have been a part of four memorable seasons, and have led the program to several notable accomplishments including the most wins in a four-year span in school history (54). That includes a pair of wins in the NCAA Tournament in 2024, helping the Bulldogs advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time since 2003. In 2024 this group also led Yale to an Ivy League Championship, the program's first since 2003, and the school's first-ever Ivy League Tournament championship. The team has been ranked as high as number one in the RPI and number four in the national polls during their careers. The Bulldogs had a nine-game winning streak in 2024 – tied for the fourth-longest winning streak in school history – and they had a seven-game winning streak in 2025. In each of their four seasons, this group helped Yale earn a spot in the Ivy League Tournament. The Bulldogs have advanced to the Ivy League Tournament Championship game all four times and won it twice. The seniors are:
- Goalkeeper Caitlin Brown (Mount Kisco, N.Y.)
- Midfielder Caroline Burt (Newtown Square, Pa.)
- Attacker Charlotte Callahan (Hinsdale, Ill.)
- Midfielder Sky Carrasquillo (Alpharetta, Ga.)
- Attacker Jenna Collignon (Hinsdale, Ill.)
- Attacker Shannon Dahlquist (Darien, Conn.)
- Goalkeeper Cami Donadio (Winter Park, Fla.)
- Attacker Taylor Everson (Montclair, N.J.)
- Defender Becca Gill (Weston, Mass.)
- Midfielder Alex Hopkins (Garden City, N.Y.)
- Midfielder Taylor Lane (Norwalk, Conn.)
- Attacker Meghan McCarthy (Potomac, Md.)
- Defender Molly McGuckin (Alexandria, Va.)
- Midfielder Sophie Straka (Chatham, N.J.)
- Defender Lyssa Tyler (Longmeadow, Mass.)
- Midfielder Fallon Vaughn (Concord, Mass.)
Classy
Here is the breakdown of starts by class this season for Yale:
- Seniors 146 starts (10 seniors have started at least one game)
- Juniors 36 starts (two juniors have started at least one game)
- Sophomores 18 starts (one sophomore has started at least one game)
- First-years 16 starts (two first years have started at least one game)
Iron Women
10 Bulldogs have started all 18 games of the season:
- Senior midfielder Sky Carrasquillo (Alpharetta, Ga.)
- Sophomore defender Katie Clare (Bayport, N.Y.)
- Senior attacker Jenna Collignon (Hinsdale, Ill.)
- Senior defender Becca Gill (Weston, Mass.)
- Senior midfielder Taylor Lane (Norwalk, Conn.)
- Senior defender Molly McGuckin (Alexandria, Va.)
- Junior defender Emmy Pascal (Lorton, Va.)
- Junior defender Bella Saviano (Severna Park, Md.)
- Senior midfielder Sophie Straka (Chatham, N.J.)
- Senior midfielder Fallon Vaughn (Concord, Mass.)
Carrasquillo, Clare, Collignon, Lane, McGuckin and Vaughn also started all 20 games last season. Lane and Vaughn have started all 72 games of their Yale careers.
Tewaaraton Nominee Fallon Vaughn
Senior midfielder
Fallon Vaughn (Concord Mass.) was a Tewaaraton Award nominee. She had been on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List since the preseason.
Vaughn is the only player in the Ivy League who has:
- 40 or more goals
- 70 or more points
- 20 or more ground balls
- 15 or more caused turnovers
AND
- 30 or more draw controls
She has 44 goals, 71 points, 27 ground balls, 19 caused turnovers and 37 draw controls.
Climbing the Charts
Senior attacker
Jenna Collignon (Hinsdale, Ill.) ranks among the best goal-scorers all-time in the Ivy League. Here are the career leaders:
1. 249 Francesca Den Hartog, Harvard (1980-83)
2. 220 McKenzie Blake, Princeton (2022-25)
3t. 209 Tracy Ball, Yale (1978-81)
3t. 209 Kyla Sears, Princeton (2018-22)
5. 208 Jenna Collignon, Yale (2022-25)
6. 199 Jacque Weitzel, Dartmouth (1997-00)
A Veteran Coaching Staff
This is Yale's 10th 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 eighth and ninth years, respectively. Assistant coach
Brooklyn Neumen joined the staff this year.
Sunday Weather Forecast for New Haven, Conn.:
From the
National Weather Service: High 71 degrees, sunny.
Media Watch
NewsChannel 8 recently featured the Bulldogs twice:
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