NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The NCAA Tournament begins Friday at Reese Stadium for the No. 5 Yale women's lacrosse team. The Bulldogs host UAlbany in the first round (1:00 p.m.,
ESPN+,
Live Stats,
Tickets). The winner advances to Sunday's second-round game against either No. 21 Brown or No. 19 Syracuse – those two teams play at 4:00 p.m. Friday at Reese.
Yale is the No. 7 seed in the tournament. The Bulldogs won the Ivy League Tournament Championship last weekend, earning the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Last Game
Yale (14-3, 5-2 Ivy League)
beat Princeton 17-6 Sunday afternoon in the Ivy League Tournament championship game. The Bulldogs, as the No. 2 seed, became the first team to beat the No. 1 seed in the tournament since 2017. The Bulldogs' margin of victory, 11 goals, was the largest in any Ivy League Tournament game in the tournament's 14 editions since its inception in 2010. Senior midfielder
Taylor Lane (Norwalk, Conn.), who had the game-winning goal in
Friday's 11-10 semifinal win vs. Penn, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
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 |
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 earn a first-round bye. The remaining 26 teams playing first-round games at campus sites Friday (between 12:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.). 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)
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 19-1 at Reese Stadium since the start of the 2024 season. That includes a pair of wins in last season's NCAA Tournament.
Among Yale's Best
Yale's 14 wins this season are tied for 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 4-3 – with wins in each of the last four.
Defense Among Best in the Nation
Through May 4 Yale ranks No. 4 nationally in scoring defense (8.29 goals allowed per game). No. 1 North Carolina (6.67 goals allowed per game) leads the nation.
More Ivy Success
Dating back to a win in the final Ivy League game of the 2020 season, Yale is 23-6 (.793) in its last 29 Ivy League regular season games and 29-8 (.784) in its last 37 games against Ivy opponents (including Ivy League Tournament games).
A Decisive Shot Advantage
Yale has outshot its opponents 582-350 this season, an average margin of +13.6 shots per game.
Clearly Better
Yale is 282 for 301 (.937, seventh in the nation) on clears and has limited its opponents to a 270 for 320 (.844) 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 (53). That includes a pair of wins in the NCAA Tournament last season, helping the Bulldogs advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time since 2003. This group also led Yale to an Ivy League Championship last season, 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 last season – tied for the fourth-longest winning streak in school history – and they had a seven-game winning streak this season. 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 139 starts (10 seniors have started at least one game)
- Juniors 34 starts (two juniors have started at least one game)
- Sophomores 17 starts (one sophomore has started at least one game)
- First-years 14 starts (two first years have started at least one game)
Iron Women
10 Bulldogs have started all 17 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 71 games of their Yale careers.
Tewaaraton Nominee Fallon Vaughn
Senior midfielder
Fallon Vaughn (Concord Mass.) has been named 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
- 60 or more points
- 20 or more ground balls
- 15 or more caused turnovers
AND
- 30 or more draw controls
She has 43 goals, 69 points, 26 ground balls, 19 caused turnovers and 35 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. 215 McKenzie Blake, Princeton (2022-25)
3t. 209 Tracy Ball, Yale (1978-81)
3t. 209 Kyla Sears, Princeton (2018-22)
5. 205 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.
Scouting UAlbany
UAlbany (9-9, 4-2 America East) brings a five-game winning streak into the weekend, having earned its place in the NCAA Tournament with a 14-10 win at Bryant (the No. 1 seed) in the America East Tournament championship game last Sunday. This is the Great Danes' fifth NCAA Tournament appearance.
Yale-UAlbany Common Opponents
Yale and UAlbany did not face each other this season, but they did have four common opponents – including UMass Lowell, whom UAlbany played twice. The Bulldogs were 4-0 against those opponents, while the Great Danes were 1-4. Here are the goals for and goals against in each of those games:
| Opponent |
Yale GF |
Yale GA |
UAlbany GF |
UAlbany GA |
| Harvard |
14 |
9 |
6 |
18 |
| Syracuse |
13 |
10 |
9 |
21 |
| UConn |
17 |
8 |
4 |
15 |
| UMass Lowell (1) |
16 |
6 |
9 |
13 |
| UMass Lowell (2) |
n/a |
n/a |
18 |
10 |
| TOTAL GOALS |
60 |
33 |
46 |
77 |
Friday Weather Forecast for New Haven, Conn.:
From the
National Weather Service: High 56 degrees, heavy rain.
Media Watch
NewsChannel 8 recently featured the Bulldogs twice:
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