NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- It was a game of two dramatically different halves for the Yale women's lacrosse team Saturday afternoon in the Ivy League opener vs. Cornell at Schoellkopf Field -- and unfortunately for the Bulldogs, a strong second half was not enough for them to overcome a tough first half. Cornell outscored Yale 6-1 in the first -- so even after an evenly matched second half in which Yale outscored Cornell 5-4, the Big Red was still able to come away with a 10-6 win.

The first set of possessions set the tone for the first half, as Cornell (3-0, 1-0 Ivy League) was able to control the ball for nearly four minutes. The Yale defense stood strong, limiting the Big Red to two low-percentage shots that went wide, before the Big Red finally drew a free position attempt. That shot hit the post, but the next Yale possession ended quickly after a turnover and Cornell went right back on attack.

The Big Red went on to control possession for most of the half, getting 23 shots -- including eight on free positions. The Yale defense was able to slow Cornell down, limiting the Big Red to a 6-for-23 shooting performance, but that was still enough for Cornell to jump out to a 6-0 lead. Yale did not get its first shot on goal until the 8:05 mark, when sophomore attacker Kiwi Comizio drove in and fired a high shot that Cornell goalie Renee Poullott stopped.

The Bulldogs broke up the shutout with 18.7 seconds left in the first half. They worked the ball inside to freshman midfielder Addie Zinsner, who drew a free position attempt. From there, she passed to junior attacker Hope Hanley wide open at the near post. Hanley cut in front of the net and fired in her seventh goal of the season.

Sophomore midfielder Lily Smith got Yale off to a good start in the second half with a free position goal, bouncing one past Poullott at 25:59. Her twin sister, sophomore midfielder Katie Smith, then scored off an assist by Hanley at 24:36 to notch her first career goal, and Lily then added another free position goal at 23:13 to make the score 6-4.

That prompted a timeout by Cornell. The Big Red was able to set up attacker Tomasina Leska for a point-blank shot right after that, but sophomore goalkeeper Sydney Marks made the save. Marks then denied Leska from point-blank range again two minutes later after Leska scooped up a loose ball in front of the cage.

Those plays helped extended Yale's shutout streak to 15:54 before Cornell midfielder Joey Coffy drove in and, while being fouled, fired one low past Marks and inside the far post at 17:28 to get Cornell's lead to 7-4.

Senior attacker Nicole Daniggelis got the next draw control (one of six on the day for her), though, and Yale went right down and scored as senior midfielder Lauren Wackerle set Katie Smith up for a goal at 17:03.

The teams continued alternating goals as midfielder Taylor Reed scored at 12:08 to make it a hat trick for her and an 8-5 lead for Cornell with 12:08 to play. Poullott helped stop that trend with a save on Katie Smith; the Big Red then cleared the ball and got a goal from midfielder Christie Raymond to make it 9-5. After back-to-back turnovers Cornell wound up with the ball again shortly after that, getting a goal from defender/midfielder Anna Baumeister that got the lead back to five goals.

That cushion enabled Cornell to work the clock down after a Yale turnover with less than three minutes to play, and by the time Marks grabbed a ground ball after a Cornell turnover there was only 1:45 left on the clock -- and Yale's possession ended in a turnover before the Bulldogs could clear.

Yale did get one last possession in the final minute, with Hanley drawing a free position attempt that enabled her to sling in a goal with 41.5 seconds left to make the final 10-6.

Marks finished with 10 saves, while Poullott made four. The Bulldogs were perfect on clears (13-for-13) and shot .500 (6-for-12). Sophomore defender Cooper Hall led Yale's defense with four ground balls.

"We faced a strong Cornell team today," said Erica LaGrow, Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse. "They came out hard, won the first draw and dictated the pace of the first half. I am proud of the way our team came out and competed at the start of the second half but it wasn't enough to compensate for our first half deficit."

Yale (2-3, 0-1 Ivy League) travels to No. 10 Stony Brook Tuesday night.

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