New Haven, CT - Yale finished off a long day of lacrosse action at Johnson Field Saturday night with an 18-10 win over Monmouth. The victory came on the heels of a 16-6 win over Cal six hours earlier, as the Bulldogs (10-4) were forced to play two games in the same day due to a scheduling quirk.

"It shows a lot of heart," said Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach Amanda O'Leary of her team's performance. "Physically, I'm sure their muscles were sore, but mentally they played through it."

Monmouth (5-8) made things interesting by rallying from a three-goal deficit to tie the game at four at 23:57 of the first half. But the Bulldogs reeled off four straight goals to end the half, including three from Sophie Melniker. They took control with another goal at the start of the second half by Tewaaraton Award candidate Miles Whitman.

"That's what's great about the senior class," said O'Leary. "When in doubt, they're going to pull you through."

Melniker and Katie Sargent each finished with six goals, while Whitman had three. Aly Croffy, Marly Gillece and Kira Licata had one each. It was the second goal of the day for the junior Licata, who scored her first career goal in the Cal game.

"She came into her own and gained some confidence," said O'Leary. "That's half the battle on the attack."

Lonnie Sarnell made seven saves for Yale, while Lauren Strina had 17 for Monmouth.

The Bulldogs honored their four seniors - Melniker, Whitman, Jennifer Kessel and Jennifer Voorhees - in a ceremony before the game. Yale's final home game of the regular season is set for Wednesday at 4:00 against Brown.

report by Sam Rubin '95, Yale Sports Publicity Department