NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The No. 5 Yale women's lacrosse team is headed to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the second year in a row. Sunday's second-round game against No. 19 Syracuse at Reese Stadium came down to the wire, as the Bulldogs overcame an 8-7 Orange lead in the fourth quarter thanks to two goals in the final 6:51 from senior attacker
Jenna Collignon – including the 210th and 211th of her career, establishing a new school record. The Yale defense then denied one final Syracuse possession to seal the win.
On a sunny and warm Sunday afternoon, Syracuse (10-9, 5-4 ACC) stormed back after Yale took an early 3-0 lead. A five-goal run by the Orange did not end until senior midfielder scored 1:49 before halftime. Syracuse then built its lead back up to three goals by scoring the first two of the third quarter. Senior midfielder
Fallon Vaughn finished off a hat trick with a pair of goals in a span of 1:06 late in the third, sending Yale into the final quarter down 7-6.
Collignon scored all three of her goals in the fourth quarter. After the first goal at 13:26, Syracuse answered with a tally from midfielder Caroline Trinkaus to take an 8-7 lead. But Collignon scored again at 6:51 to tie the game – and break the school career goals record. Her 210th moved her past Tracy Ball '81 into sole possession of the record.
And Collignon wasn't done. She scored again on a free position with 5:40 to play, and that turned out to be the game-winner. Syracuse got the ball in the final 90 seconds with a chance to tie, but the Orange's shot hit first-year defender
Maggie Bellissimo and the Bulldogs cleared the ball.
Yale (16-3, 5-2 Ivy League), the No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, will face No. 2 Boston College in the quarterfinals Thursday at 5:00 p.m. in Newton, Mass. BC beat Stony Brook 10-7 Sunday to advance.
GOALS-ASSISTS-POINTS
OTHER STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Collignon and Lane had a team-best three draw controls.
- First-year goalkeeper Niamh Pfaff made four saves.
- Collignon had a game-best four ground balls.
TURNING POINT
- After Syracuse went ahead 7-4 with 8:19 left in the third, the Bulldogs outscored the Orange 5-1 to claim the win.
KEY STAT
- Yale won four of five draw controls in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Orange 3-1 in that frame.
NOTES
- Vaughn's hat trick included an acrobatic behind-the-back goal in the first quarter.
- Collignon scored her 65th goal of the season, moving into a tie for third on Yale's all-time list. Only her total from last year (67) and 72 from Tracy Ball '81 in 1979 rank higher.
- Yale now has five all-time wins in the NCAA Tournament, with four coming in the last two seasons.
- Both teams had goals overturned on video reviews.
- Yale finished the season with a 9-1 record at Reese Stadium.
- The Bulldogs' nine-game winning streak is their longest since starting the 2024 season with nine straight wins.
- Yale's 16 wins are one away from the school record of 17 set last year.
- Yale beat Syracuse twice this season, and now has four wins all-time against the Orange. That includes a 12-7 win May 8, 2003 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Johnson Field. That win sent the Bulldogs to the NCAA Quarterfinals as well.
- The Bulldogs are making their third NCAA Quarterfinal appearance. Last season they fell 19-9 at Syracuse. In 2003 they fell 13-7 at Loyola (Md.)
QUOTING THE BULLDOGS
- Erica Bamford, Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse: "I'm so proud of this team and how resilient they are. They truly play together as a whole 38 member unit. They have each other's backs. I see this every day in practice, so quite honestly this outcome is not a surprise to me. I see our defense make critical stops in practice. Jenna steps up when we need goals in practice... I thought our defense stood really strong the entire game, especially when we needed them in the fourth quarter."
- Bamford on Collignon: "I can't speak enough to how much she's done for this program and how clutch she is in games. Especially on that eight-meter. That ball couldn't have been placed any better on that final eight-meter [to go ahead 9-8]. To put the team on her back and get that game-winning goal, I'm so proud of her as an individual. I see it every day."
- Collignon on breaking Yale's career goals record: "It's an amazing feeling, but I honestly couldn't do it without every single other person on our team. Just being able to play with the best people every day in practice and out there, to have everyone behind me… I wouldn't be able to do it without the defense, the offense, everybody."
WHAT'S NEXT
- Yale plays at No. 2 BC in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals Thursday (5:00 p.m.) at BC's Newton Campus Lacrosse & Soccer Field.
