NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The postseason begins Friday for the No. 7 Yale women's lacrosse team. The Bulldogs play No. 16 Penn in the Ivy League Tournament Semifinals (7:00 p.m.,
ESPN+,
International Stream,
Live Stats,
Tickets). The winner advances to Sunday's Ivy League Tournament Championship game, where the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament will be at stake. Yale is the No. 2 seed and Penn is the No. 3 seed in the Ivy League Tournament.
Last Game
Yale (12-3, 5-2 Ivy League)
beat Cornell 16-15 in overtime last Saturday to clinch a spot in the Ivy League Tournament. Senior midfielder
Fallon Vaughn (Concord, Mass.) scored the game-winning goal with 2:11 left in the second half of the first overtime.
Ivy League Tournament
Yale is the No. 2 seed in the Ivy League Tournament for the third time in school history. No. 5 Princeton will host the tournament, which starts with semifinal games on Friday (4:00 p.m. No. 1 seed Princeton vs. No. 4 seed Brown; 7:00 p.m. No. 2 seed Yale vs. No. 3 seed Penn). The championship game is on Sunday (12:00 p.m.). All games will be streamed on ESPN+. Ticket information is available by clicking
here.
This will be the 14th installment of the Ivy League Tournament since 2010.
Yale's Ivy League Tournament History
This is Yale's fourth appearance in the Ivy League Tournament.
- 2022 (No. 2 seed) at Princeton:
- 2023 (No. 2 seed) at Penn:
- 2024 (No. 1 seed) at Yale:
Six Bulldogs Honored by Ivy League
Yale had six individuals honored by the Ivy League on Tuesday as the league announced its annual awards.
Three Bulldogs earned first team All-Ivy League recognition:
Two Bulldogs earned second team All-Ivy recognition:
Senior midfielder
Sophie Straka (Chatham, N.J.) was named Academic All-Ivy League.
Seniors Honored
Yale honored its senior class (16 people) after the Cornell game. The members of the senior class have been a part of four memorable seasons, and have led the program to several notable accomplishments. That includes a pair of wins in the NCAA Tournament last season, helping the Bulldogs advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time since 2003. This group also led Yale to an Ivy League Championship last season, the program's first since 2003, and the school's first-ever Ivy League Tournament championship. The team has been ranked as high as number one in the RPI and number four in the national polls during their careers. The Bulldogs had a nine-game winning streak last season – tied for the fourth-longest winning streak in school history – and they had a seven-game winning streak this season.In each of their four seasons, this group helped Yale earn a spot in the Ivy League Tournament. The Bulldogs have advanced to the Ivy League Tournament Championship game three times. The seniors are:
- Goalkeeper Caitlin Brown (Mount Kisco, N.Y.)
- Midfielder Caroline Burt (Newtown Square, Pa.)
- Attacker Charlotte Callahan (Hinsdale, Ill.)
- Midfielder Sky Carrasquillo (Alpharetta, Ga.)
- Attacker Jenna Collignon (Hinsdale, Ill.)
- Attacker Shannon Dahlquist (Darien, Conn.)
- Goalkeeper Cami Donadio (Winter Park, Fla.)
- Attacker Taylor Everson (Montclair, N.J.)
- Defender Becca Gill (Weston, Mass.)
- Midfielder Alex Hopkins (Garden City, N.Y.)
- Midfielder Taylor Lane (Norwalk, Conn.)
- Attacker Meghan McCarthy (Potomac, Md.)
- Defender Molly McGuckin (Alexandria, Va.)
- Midfielder Sophie Straka (Chatham, N.J.)
- Defender Lyssa Tyler (Longmeadow, Mass.)
- Midfielder Fallon Vaughn (Concord, Mass.)
Yale's Winningest Classes
The senior class became Yale's winningest class with the 14-9 win at then-No. 22 Harvard Apr. 19. That was the Bulldogs' 51st win in the past four seasons. Here are Yale's winningest classes:
51 wins: Class of 2025
49 wins: Class of 2000
48 wins: Class of 1998, Class of 1999
Among Yale's Best
Yale's 12 wins this season are tied for eighth-most in school history. The school record for wins in a season is 17, set last year.
RPI and the Ivy League
Here are the Ivy League teams in the RPI rankings from the NCAA through games of Apr. 29:
4. Princeton
10. Yale
11. Penn
21. Dartmouth
24. Harvard
25. Brown
30. Cornell
77. Columbia
The ACC (seven) and the Ivy League (six) are the only conferences with six or more teams ranked in the top 25 of the RPI.
NCAA RPI Picture
Last year the top six in the NCAA RPI rankings at the time of the NCAA Tournament selections all wound up being selected to host NCAA Tournament games, as were the teams that were ranked No. 10 and No. 11. Nos. 7, 8 and 9 in the RPI all were sent on the road. Every team that was ranked No. 21 or better in the RPI made the tournament field.
Here is a look at the top 12 in the NCAA RPI through games of Apr. 29:
| Rank |
Team |
Conference |
Record |
Next Game |
| 1 |
North Carolina |
ACC |
13-2 |
TBD (Regular season and conference tournament complete) |
| 2 |
Boston College |
ACC |
17-2 |
TBD (Regular season and conference tournament complete) |
| 3 |
Northwestern |
Big Ten |
16-2 |
TBD (Regular season and conference tournament complete) |
| 4 |
Princeton |
Ivy League |
13-2 |
May 2, Brown (Ivy League Tournament Semifinals) |
| 5 |
Florida |
Big 12 |
15-2 |
May 1, UC Davis (Big 12 Tournament Semifinals) |
| 6 |
Maryland |
Big Ten |
14-5 |
TBD (Regular season and conference tournament complete) |
| 7 |
Virginia |
ACC |
11-6 |
TBD (Regular season and conference tournament complete) |
| 8 |
Johns Hopkins |
Big Ten |
12-6 |
TBD (Regular season and conference tournament complete) |
| 9 |
Stanford |
ACC |
14-5 |
TBD (Regular season and conference tournament complete) |
| 10 |
Yale |
Ivy League |
12-3 |
May 2, Penn (Ivy League Tournament Semifinals) |
| 11 |
Penn |
Ivy League |
10-5 |
May 2, Yale (Ivy League Tournament Semifinals) |
| 12 |
James Madison |
The American |
12-4 |
May 1, Vanderbilt (American Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals) |
Defense Among Best in the Nation
Yale ranks No. 4 nationally in scoring defense (8.33 goals allowed per game). No. 1 North Carolina (6.67 goals allowed per game) leads the nation.
More Ivy Success
Dating back to a win in the final Ivy League game of the 2020 season, Yale is 23-6 (.793) in its last 29 Ivy League regular season games and 27-8 (.771) in its last 35 games against Ivy opponents (including Ivy League Tournament games).
A Decisive Shot Advantage
Yale has outshot its opponents 514-310 this season, an average margin of +13.6 shots per game.
Clearly Better
Yale is 246 for 263 (.935) on clears and has limited its opponents to a 236 for 284 (.831) performance on clears.
Classy
Here is the breakdown of starts by class this season for Yale:
- Seniors 125 starts (10 seniors have started at least one game)
- Juniors 30 starts (two juniors have started at least one game)
- Sophomores 15 starts (one sophomore has started at least one game)
- First-years 10 starts (two first years have started at least one game)
Iron Women
10 Bulldogs have started all 15 games of the season:
- Senior midfielder Sky Carrasquillo (Alpharetta, Ga.)
- Sophomore defender Katie Clare (Bayport, N.Y.)
- Senior attacker Jenna Collignon (Hinsdale, Ill.)
- Senior defender Becca Gill (Weston, Mass.)
- Senior midfielder Taylor Lane (Norwalk, Conn.)
- Senior defender Molly McGuckin (Alexandria, Va.)
- Junior defender Emmy Pascal (Lorton, Va.)
- Junior defender Bella Saviano (Severna Park, Md.)
- Senior midfielder Sophie Straka (Chatham, N.J.)
- Senior midfielder Fallon Vaughn (Concord, Mass.)
Carrasquillo, Clare, Collignon, Lane, McGuckin and Vaughn also started all 20 games last season. Lane and Vaughn have started all 69 games of their Yale careers.
Tewaaraton Nominee Fallon Vaughn
Senior midfielder
Fallon Vaughn (Concord Mass.) was named a Tewaaraton Award nominee earlier this month. She had been on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List since the preseason.
Vaughn is the only player in the Ivy League who has:
- 40 or more goals
- 60 or more points
- 20 or more ground balls
- 15 or more caused turnovers
AND
- 30 or more draw controls
She has 40 goals, 63 points, 24 ground balls, 19 caused turnovers and 31 draw controls.
Vaughn Honored by IWLCA, League
After leading scoring the game-winner in Saturday's overtime win vs. Cornell, senior midfielder
Fallon Vaughn (Concord, Mass.) was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. She was then named national Offensive Player of the Week by the IWLCA on Tuesday.
A Veteran Coaching Staff
This is Yale's 10th year under
Erica Bamford, Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse. Assistant coaches
Molly Palella and
Colleen Smith are in their eighth and ninth years, respectively. Assistant coach
Brooklyn Neumen joined the staff this year.
Scouting Penn
Penn (10-5, 5-2 Ivy League) has won four in a row, and the Quakers' three losses in their last 11 games have all been by one or two goals. Yale beat the Quakers 10-9 in double overtime earlier this year and has now won three in a row in the series, including a 10-9 overtime win in the Ivy League Tournament championship game last year. Prior to Yale's 11-10 win at Reese Stadium in 2022, Penn had won 15 straight in the series.
Friday Night Weather Forecast for Princeton, N.J.
From the
National Weather Service: Low 61 degrees, chance of thunderstorms.
NCAA Tournament Selections
NCAA Tournament selections for 2025 will be announced Sunday, May 4 at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The 29 team field includes 15 automatic qualifiers and 14 at-large selections. The 15 conferences with automatic bids include:
- America East Conference
- American Athletic Conference
- ASUN Conference
- Atlantic 10 Conference
- Atlantic Coast Conference
- Big 12 Conference
- Big East Conference
- Big South Conference
- Big Ten Conference
- Coastal Athletic Association
- The Ivy League
- Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
- Mid-American Conference
- Northeast Conference
- Patriot League
NCAA Tournament Seeding, Schedule
The top eight teams in the NCAA Tournament are seeded. The three top overall seeds earn a first-round bye. The remaining 26 teams playing first-round games at campus sites Friday May 9 (between 12:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.). The eight second-round games take place Sunday, May 11 (between 12:00 and 3:00 p.m.) and are hosted by the top eight seeds. The four quarterfinal-round games take place Thursday, May 15 (12:00 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m., 7:30 p.m.), with the top four remaining seeds hosting.
The semifinals and championship game will be played on Friday, May 23 (3:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.) and Sunday, May 25 (12:00 p.m.) at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.
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