March 28, 2007

Box Score

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - What was a seven-goal lead shrank to four goals on four different occasions in the second half, but No. 16 Yale managed to hold off UMass for a 13-9 win Wednesday afternoon at Johnson Field. Junior midfielder Lauren Taylor and sophomore defenseman Jenn Warden scored three goals each to lead the Bulldogs offensively.

Yale (7-3) scored the first four goals of the game, including two by Taylor, one by Warden and one by senior attacker Marya Myers. Meanwhile, junior goalkeeper Ellen Cameron denied several quality UMass scoring chances, making four of her five saves for the game in the first half.

After Kathleen Typadis got UMass on the board with 12:28 left in the first, the Bulldogs reeled off four more goals. Sophomore midfielder Linden Ellis grabbed a rebound of a Warden shot to notch her second goal of the year, and shortly after that she picked up a ground ball at midfield and launched a long pass to a wide-open Taylor for her third of the game and 37th of the season.

Sophomore midfielder Sara Greenberg's aggressive move to goal gave her a free-position shot with 19 seconds left in the half, and she used that opportunity to give the Bulldogs a 7-1 advantage. Yale finished the half with a 26-7 edge in shots.

Freshman attacker Jessica Sturgill scored off a Taylor assist three minutes into the second half to seemingly put Yale in control, but the Minutewomen battled back. Melynda Zwick started the comeback attempt with the first of her two goals for the game with 25:44 to play.

UMass (5-5) would outscore the Bulldogs 4-1 over a span of 7:20, including two of Holly Drown's three goals on the day. Taylor Fragapane had the lone Yale tally in that span, converting a pass from Taylor that gave Taylor five points for the game -- the fifth time she has accomplished that feat so far this year.

A free position goal by junior midfielder Kat Peetz and an unassisted goal by Warden gave Yale some breathing room at 11-5 with 9:23 to play. After UMass closed within 11-7 Warden's free position goal with 4:33 left, and a turnover by UMass after the ensuing draw control, enabled the Bulldogs to run off most of the final minutes of the game in the UMass end. The Minutewomen did manage two goals in the final minute, while Yale got a goal from junior attacker Meredith Callahan, to make the final 13-9.

UMass' Lauren McCarthy finished with 15 saves. The Minutewomen were hurt by 21 turnovers, with Yale junior defenseman Katie Wiacek picking up a team-high three caused turnovers. She and Taylor each had a team-high three ground balls.

Taylor now has an 18-game scoring streak and Warden has a 15-gamer.

The Bulldogs resume Ivy League play at Harvard on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

report by Sam Rubin '95 (sam.rubin@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity