NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A 2024 NCAA Quarterfinal rematch Wednesday afternoon at Reese Stadium proved to be just what the No. 13 Yale women's lacrosse team needed. The Bulldogs had their best offensive day in three weeks, including hat tricks from three players. They also dominated on the draw control (a 19-7 advantage) and excelled on defense (including a stretch of 18 minutes without allowing a goal). That all added up to a 13-10 win vs. No. 6 Syracuse, avenging last season's NCAA Quarterfinal loss in the JMA Wireless Dome.
Yale (8-3, 1-2 Ivy League) never trailed, but never had a lead of more than three goals until going ahead 12-8 on a goal by senior midfielder
Fallon Vaughn at 8:23 of the fourth. That was Vaughn's fifth goal of the day. She, senior attacker
Jenna Collignon and senior midfielder
Taylor Lane (three goals each) all had hat tricks.
After falling behind 3-1 early, Syracuse (8-5, 4-2 ACC) tied the game 3-3 and went on to tie it 4-4 and 5-5. The Bulldogs finally got some breathing room by reeling off three straight goals from 9:24 of the second to 14:19 of the third. After the Orange closed within 8-7 heading into the fourth, Collignon scored the first two goals of that frame and later scored another to earn her eighth hat trick of the year.
GOALS-ASSISTS-POINTS
OTHER STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Collignon had a game-best eight draw controls – more than the entire Syracuse team. Lane added seven.
- Senior defender Molly McGuckin led Yale with a pair of caused turnovers
- First-year goalkeeper Niamh Pfaff made eight saves on 14 shots, playing the final 45 minutes. Senior goalkeeper Cami Donadio started and made one save.
TURNING POINT
- Yale outscored Syracuse 4-1 in the first 6:37 of the fourth quarter, turning a 9-7 Yale lead into a 12-8 Yale lead. The Bulldogs won the first five draws of that quarter.
KEY STAT
- Yale limited Syracuse to 20 shots, the second-lowest total of the season for the Orange.
NOTES
- The 13 goals Yale scored tied for the second-most allowed in a game by Syracuse this season. Then-No. 10 Johns Hopkins beat the Orange 14-13 Mar. 10, and then-No. 7 Stanford scored 13 goals in a 14-13 Syracuse win Mar. 7.
- Yale had not scored this many goals in a game since the 17-8 win at then-No. 25 UConn Mar. 12.
- Yale's last win vs. Syracuse was May 8, 2003 – a 12-7 Yale win at Johnson Field in the NCAA Tournament, earning the Bulldogs a spot in the quarterfinals.
- Yale tied its season high with five free position goals.
- Yale is now 8-0 when scoring 12 or more goals – and 0-3 when scoring 11 or fewer goals.
- First-year defender Maggie Bellissimo made her first career start.
QUOTING CAPTAIN SOPHIE STRAKA
- On the work of the draw control unit (Yale won 19 of 26 draws): "The amount of work they put in last week… We talked about making our own luck, getting the bounces. That was what we did today. It was a game-changer."
- On the success of the offense despite Syracuse's attempts to faceguard Jenna Collignon and Fallon Vaughn: "We've been practicing that all week. We felt there was a chance they would throw something like that at us, so we practiced 5v5. The great thing about our team is how deep we are. If Fallon and Jenna are taken out, other people can step up."
- On the defense, which held Syracuse scoreless for 18 minutes at one point: "This game was really a full team win. There were times when the defense had to stand on its head, but we were really locked in and prepared. Our goalies were amazing."
- On facing Syracuse after losing three in a row, and having lost to Syracuse last year in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals: "Coming off a losing stretch, this was definitely the perfect spark."
- On snapping a three-game losing streak: "I'm really proud of everyone. It's been a tough few weeks. Not many teams could have pulled off a win like this. Everyone stayed resilient."
WHAT'S NEXT
- Yale hosts Dartmouth Sunday at 12:00 p.m.
