NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The No. 8 Yale women's lacrosse team was tested by its archrival Friday night in the Ivy League Tournament Semifinals at Reese Stadium. The Bulldogs – who had trailed at halftime only twice all year, and only once in the last 14 regular-season games – found themselves behind No. 23 Harvard 7-6 at the break Friday. But the Yale defense put the clamps on the Crimson in the second half, holding Harvard to three goals. And junior attacker
Jenna Collignon enjoyed a record-tying day with eight goals, including the one that put Yale ahead for good – 9-8 with 8:55 to play in the third. The Bulldogs eventually came away with a 14-10 win, booking their third straight trip to the Ivy League Tournament Championship Game. There, they will face No. 3 seed Penn, who beat No. 2 seed Princeton 18-14 earlier in the day Friday at Reese in the other semifinal game.
Yale improves to 14-2 overall, while Harvard drops to 10-5.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Junior attacker Jenna Collignon scored a game-best eight goals, shooting .889 (8-for-9). That tied the record for goals in an Ivy League Tournament game, set earlier in the day by Penn's Anna Brandt. Collignon now has 52 goals for the year.
- Senior attacker Chloe Conaghan, junior attacker Taylor Everson and junior midfielder Fallon Vaughn added two goals each.
- Collignon and first-year attacker Ashley Kiernan each had a pair of assists to lead the Bulldogs in that category.
- Vaughn and junior midfielder Taylor Lane each had a team-best five draw controls.
- Junior midfielder Sky Carrasquillo and sophomore defender Emmy Pascal each had a pair of caused turnovers.
- Sophomore defender Bella Saviano had a game-best (tie) three ground balls.
- First-year goalkeeper Laura O'Connor had two saves and junior goalkeeper Cami Donadio made three in relief.
TURNING POINT
- After Harvard took an 8-6 lead with 12:29 left in the third quarter, the Bulldogs went on a 4-0 run that included a pair of goals by Collignon. Harvard scored only twice after that, and never tied the game or re-took the lead.
KEY STAT
- Yale won eight of 13 (.615) draws in the second half after winning only seven of 15 (.467) in the first half.
NOTES
- The Bulldogs' 14 overall wins ties the school record, achieved five times previously.
- The Bulldogs were 12-for-12 on clears.
- Collignon was 4-for-4 on free position shots.
- This is the first time Yale has hosted the Ivy League Women's Lacrosse Tournament.
- Yale is coming off its first outright Ivy League title, and first 7-0 Ivy League season, in school history. The Bulldogs had shared the Ivy title in 1980 (4-0-2 in Ivy League play, shared title with Penn) and in 2003 (6-1 in Ivy League play, shared title with Dartmouth and Princeton). Yale has never won the Ivy League Tournament.
WHAT'S NEXT
- Yale will face Penn in the Ivy League Tournament Championship game on Sunday (12:00 p.m.). Yale beat the Quakers 16-8 at Reese four weeks ago.
- The winner of the Ivy League Tournament gets the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament, which starts May 10. The NCAA Tournament field will be announced at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday on ESPN2.