NEWTON, Mass. – Another record-breaking season came to an end in the NCAA Quarterfinals for the No. 5 Yale women's lacrosse team Thursday night. The Bulldogs made an early statement, grabbing a 6-5 lead on the defending national champions No. 2 Boston College. But the Eagles answered with a 9-0 run and went on to claim an 18-11 win.
Under cloudy skies at BC's Newton Campus Soccer-Lacrosse, Yale (16-4, 5-2 Ivy League) overcame an early 3-1 BC lead by going on a 3-0 run, including a pair of goals from senior midfielder
Fallon Vaughn and one from senior midfielder
Sky Carrasquillo. The teams then traded goals twice, with senior midfielder
Taylor Lane grabbing a ground ball in the midfield after a BC turnover and scoring to put Yale ahead 6-5 at the 10:18 mark of the second.
It took BC more than three minutes to respond to that goal. But when the Eagles responded, they did so in emphatic fashion. A 9-0 run from the 6:44 mark of the second through the 5:09 mark of the third changed the complexion of the game. Yale got no closer than within six the rest of the way.
BC (19-2, 8-1 ACC) advances to face No. 3 Northwestern in the national semifinals May 23. The winner of that game faces the winner of No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 4 Florida for the national championship May 25.
This was the second straight quarterfinals appearance for Yale. The No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs were one of three Ivy League teams to make the quarterfinals. Only the ACC, who also had three, had that many.
GOALS-ASSISTS-POINTS
OTHER STATISTICAL LEADERS
TURNING POINT
- After Yale went ahead 6-5 at 10:18 of the second, BC went on a 9-0 run that did not end until Collignon scored at 3:45 of the third.
KEY STAT
- Yale won 10 of the first 11 draw controls, but BC won 11 of the next 20.
NOTES
- Collignon scored her 67th goal of the season, moving into a tie for second on Yale's single-season goals list with herself (she scored 67 last year). Only the 72 from Tracy Ball '81 in 1979 rank higher.
- Yale broke the school record for draw controls in a season, finishing with 299.The previous record was 281.
- This snapped a nine-game winning streak for the Bulldogs, their longest since starting the 2024 season with nine straight wins.
- Yale's 16 wins are second-most in school history, one away from the school record of 17 set last year.
- The Bulldogs made their third NCAA Quarterfinal appearance and second in a row.
QUOTING THE BULLDOGS
- Erica Bamford, Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse: "It's a really hard ending to a great season by a remarkable senior class. I can't speak highly enough about this group of seniors who have brought this program to new heights, who have set the standard for what it means to be a Yale women's lacrosse player. Through the wins, the losses, everything, this group just keeps fighting. I'm just really proud of who they show up as every single day, despite the outcome of this last game."
- Vaughn: "I'm so proud and grateful to have been a part of this program. I never thought that we would accomplish as much as we did. So as much as this stinks right now, and as big as our goals were, looking back on my four years I wouldn't have changed a single game or a single minute. I'm just so glad to have met all these people. So proud."
- Lane: "I'm really proud. I think the score didn't necessarily reflect how close of a competitive game it was. At the end of the day, I think everyone is leaving with their head held high because of how we fought, and for our senior class how much we've accomplished in our time here at Yale."
- Vaughn: "Our class, from the day we got on campus, I knew was special. Everyone just shows up and works so hard and wants it so much. Everyone just plays for the person next to them, unselfish, people care so much about each other. Such great role models, such great leaders. We just had so much experience from freshman year. Making the Ivy [League Tournament] Championship [game] four years in a row wasn't easy. We just learned so much each year and were able to use that for the last two, making it to the [NCAA Tournament] Elite Eight both years."
WHAT'S NEXT
- Yale's season comes to an end, and the Bulldogs bid farewell to 16 seniors who depart as the winningest class in school history (55 wins). In addition to the two NCAA quarterfinal appearances, this group led Yale to a pair of Ivy League Tournament titles and one Ivy League regular season championship. Commencement is on Monday.
