ALBANY, N.Y. – The Yale women's lacrosse team got an early chance to see where it stands on a national level Saturday night, taking on an Albany team that had lost to No. 13 Stanford by just one goal 13 days ago and followed that up with a 19-2 win at Colgate. Behind multiple hat tricks – four goals each from senior attacker Olivia Markert and first-year midfielder Fallon Vaughn and three goals each from first-year midfielder Molly McGuckin and junior attacker Olivia Penoyer – the Bulldogs earned a signature 16-14 win. Junior Clare Boone played the final 45 minutes in goal and made seven saves, including a critical one in the final seconds to preserve the victory.
 
"I am extremely proud of the way our team prepared for and competed against a formidable and well-coached Albany team," said Erica Bamford, Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse. 
 
Yale (2-0, 0-0 Ivy League) fell behind 5-2 early, but rallied to tie the game on a McGuckin goal at 1:23 of the first. The teams remained within two goals of each other until late in the third when a three-goal Yale run gave the Bulldogs a 13-10 edge.
 
Albany (1-2, 0-0 America East) scored twice in the final minute of the third to get within 13-12, but Vaughn scored a pair of goals in the first five minutes of the fourth to give the Bulldogs a cushion. After Albany got within 15-14, first-year midfielder Taylor Lane got the draw control and Markert scored on a free position with 1:40 left. Boone's save with 20 seconds left sealed the win.
 
Yale finished with a 20-14 advantage in draw controls and outshot Albany 33-27. First-year midfielder Sky Carrasquillo had seven draw controls. Lane had six draw controls, three caused turnovers and a goal, and sophomore attacker Bri Carrasquillo also scored for Yale. Junior defender Emily Clorite led the Bulldogs with three ground balls. First-year midfielder Sophie Straka had an assist for her first career point.
 
Yale hosts Quinnipiac Tuesday at 4:00 p.m.