NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The return to competition for the first time since Mar. 12, 2020 was bound to be a memorable moment for the Yale women's lacrosse team Saturday at Reese Stadium. But no-one could have foreseen just how memorable it would wind up being. Snow squalls that hit the area shortly after the game started resulted in a lengthy delay and a workout for the members of Yale's grounds crew, who got the field quickly back to playable condition after the sudden coating of wintry powder. The Bulldogs then went out and finished off a 15-4 win vs. Sacred Heart that included hat tricks for two players and points for 11 – including seven who were making their Yale debuts.
Yale (1-0, 0-0 Ivy League) led 1-0 on a goal by first-year midfielder
Fallon Vaughn when the snow squall hit, blanketing the field with snow and dramatically decreasing visibility for several minutes. After it passed the Yale grounds crew got to work clearing the field, and after a brief warmup both teams got back to work. Just 21 seconds after the game resumed, sophomore attacker
Bri Carrasquillo scored off an assist by junior attacker
Olivia Penoyer and the Bulldogs were back in business. Carrasquillo and Vaughn would go on to have hat tricks, and Penoyer finished with a goal and four assists. After taking a 9-1 lead into halftime, the Bulldogs outscored the Pioneers 4-2 in the third and 2-1 in the fourth to finish off the win.
While Carrasquillo and Penoyer are proven scorers at the collegiate level, Vaughn (three goals, one assist) led a large group of Bulldogs who made their debuts and got in the scoring column. That group included first-year attacker
Caroline Burt (one goal), first-year midfielder
Sky Carrasquillo (Bri's sister) (one goal), first-year attacker
Jenna Collignon (one goal), sophomore attacker
Chloe Conaghan (one goal, one assist), first-year midfielder
Taylor Lane (one goal, one assist) and first-year midfielder
Molly McGuckin (one goal).
Sky Carrasquillo and Vaughn also made big contributions on the draw, with Carrasquillo getting seven draw controls and Vaughn getting four. That helped Yale to a 15-7 advantage in that category. Additionally, first-year goalkeeper
Cami Donadio made five saves. With a combined 24 first years and sophomores, the Bulldogs figure to rely heavily on contributions from new faces this season.
Two more veterans rounded out the scoring, with senior attackers
Olivia Markert and
Isabelle Webster getting one goal each. Junior midfielder
Payton Vaughn, Fallon's sister, joined
Bri Carrasquillo and junior defender
Emily Clorite in getting a team-high three ground balls each.
All in all, it made for a memorable day for those who braved the cold, snowy and windy conditions.
"We are so happy and grateful to be back out on the field," said
Erica Bamford, Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse. "Our women did a tremendous job preparing and executing today despite the adverse conditions."
Yale plays at Albany next Saturday.
