NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale women's lacrosse team is in Florida for a neutral-site game vs. No. 16 Notre Dame Sunday (12:00 p.m.,
ESPN+,
Live Stats). The Bulldogs and the Fighting Irish will play at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples.
Last Game
Yale (4-1, 1-0 Ivy League) fell to No. 1 BC last Sunday, suffering its first loss of the season. The Bulldogs got seven goals from first years, including the first career hat trick for first-year attacker
Taylor Everson (Montclair, N.J.). First-year midfielder
Becca Gill (Weston, Mass.) scored her first career goal.
Sunshine State Connection
The lone Bulldog from Florida is first-year goalkeeper
Cami Donadio (Winter Park, Fla.). Donadio played for Bishop Moore Catholic High School, serving as team captain her senior year. She was a two-time All-American, becoming the first All-American goalie in her school's history. She helped her team to a state championship in 2017. Donadio has played in three games and started two for Yale this season, earning wins against Sacred Heart and Albany.
A Florida Tradition
This will be the third time since 2007 that Yale and Notre Dame have played in Florida. The Fighting Irish have won both meetings (9-7 in 2007 and 15-9 in 2012). The 2007 Bulldog squad that fell to Notre Dame went on to win nine of the next 10 games, earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
First Time for Everything
Ten of the 14 players who have scored goals for Yale this season had never scored a collegiate goal prior to this season. They are:
- First-year attacker Caroline Burt (Newtown Square, Pa.)
- First-year midfielder Sky Carrasquillo (Alpharetta, Ga.)
- First-year attacker Jenna Collignon (Hinsdale, Ill.)
- Sophomore attacker Chloe Conaghan (Chevy Chase, Md.)
- First-year attacker Taylor Everson (Montclair, N.J.)
- First-year midfielder Becca Gill (Weston, Mass.)
- First-year midfielder Taylor Lane (Norwalk, Conn.)
- First-year midfielder Molly McGuckin (Alexandria, Va.)
- First-year midfielder Sophie Straka (Chatham, N.J.)
- First-year midfielder Fallon Vaughn (Concord, Mass.)
Strength of Schedule Trending Up
Yale is in the midst of back-to-back-to-back games against teams that are either ranked or receiving votes in the national poll. After facing No. 1 BC last Sunday and No. 16 Notre Dame this Sunday, the Bulldogs will host Penn, which is receiving votes in the national poll, at Reese Stadium Saturday Mar. 26.
Ground Balls Give Bulldogs a Possession Edge
Yale leads the Ivy League in ground balls per game (19.20, 15th in the nation). Junior midfielder
Payton Vaughn (Concord, Mass.) (10 ground balls) and junior defender
Emily Clorite (Madison, Conn.) (nine ground balls) are Yale's top two in that category.
Markert Leads the Offense
Senior attacker
Olivia Markert (Centreville, Va.) leads Yale in goals and points (17-2-19). She is second in the Ivy League in goals per game (3.40), trailing only Princeton's Kyla Sears. Markert is third in the Ivy League in points per game. She has two of the three highest single-game shot totals in the league this year: 13 shots against Quinnipiac and 11 at Albany. Her seven goals in the win vs. QU are the most by any Ivy player in 2022.
Scouting Notre Dame
Notre Dame (3-5, 1-2 ACC), which advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals last season, has won two of its last three after starting the season 1-4. Both wins came against opponents currently ranked in the top 20: 12-10 vs. No. 14 Virginia and 20-5 vs. No. 20 Jacksonville. The Fighting Irish rank No. 13 in the nation in draw controls per game (16.75).
