PRINCETON, N.J. – The No. 7 Yale women's lacrosse team only had the lead for 2:46 of Friday night's Ivy League Tournament semifinal game against No. 16 Penn at Princeton's Sherrerd Field. But the Bulldogs led when it mattered most. Trailing 10-9, they held the Quakers scoreless for the final 6:32 and got the two goals they needed for the win – including the game-winner with 13 seconds left from senior midfielder
Taylor Lane. The 11-10 victory sends Yale into Sunday's Ivy League Tournament championship game, where the Bulldogs will face No. 5 Princeton.
Penn (10-6, 5-2 Ivy League) overcame an early 2-1 Yale lead and led for most of the second quarter. After Lane tied the game 4-4 with 55 seconds left in the first half, the Quakers re-took the lead just before halftime and eventually led by as many as three goals in the third.
A goal by senior attacker
Jenna Collignon with 4:41 left in the third started a 4-1 Yale run that tied the game 9-9. After Penn went ahead on a free position goal with 6:32 left in the fourth, the Bulldogs forced the Quakers into a shot clock violation on the next possession.
The next two Penn possessions ended in turnovers, including one caused by sophomore defender
Katie Clare that helped set up the possession in which Collignon scored the game-tying goal with 56 seconds left.
Senior midfielder
Fallon Vaughn then got the ensuing draw control. The Bulldogs worked the ball around the cage and Collignon found Lane wide open just outside the 8 meter fan. Lane fired a low, hard shot that eluded Quaker keeper Orly Sedransk for the game-winner.
Yale (13-3, 5-2 Ivy League) has now won all four Ivy League Tournament semifinal games it has played.
GOALS-ASSISTS-POINTS
OTHER STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Carrasquillo had a game-best five draw controls.
- First-year goalkeeper Niamh Pfaff made six saves.
- Lane had a game-best four ground balls.
TURNING POINT
- After Penn went ahead 8-5 at 5:27 of the third, the Bulldogs allowed only two more goals.
KEY STAT
- Yale allowed Penn only two shots on goal in the fourth quarter.
NOTES
- Yale led twice in the game: 2-1 (from 7:30 of the first to 4:57 of the first) and 11-10 for the final 13 seconds.
- The last three games in the Yale-Penn series, and five of the last seven games, have been decided by one goal.
- The Bulldogs are 5-2 against Penn in their last seven meetings, including a 2-1 record in Ivy League Tournament games.
- Yale had a 15-9 advantage in draw controls, a dramatic reversal from Penn's 16-8 advantage in that category when these two teams met Apr. 12 (a 10-9 Yale win in double overtime).
- Collignon now has 200 career goals, nine away from the Yale record.
- Lane tied her season high with four goals and now has a career high 30 goals and 53 points for the season. She has 16 goals and 11 assists in the last six games.
- Lane scored the game-winner against Penn in last year's Ivy League Tournament championship game. That one was in overtime.
WHAT'S NEXT
- Yale plays the No. 1 seed, Princeton, in the Ivy League Tournament championship game Sunday (12:00 p.m.) at Princeton. The Ivy League's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament is at stake.
