NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A starter throughout her career on a Yale women's lacrosse defense that ranked No. 4 in the nation this past year, rising senior defender
Emmy Pascal (Lorton, Va.) has been elected team captain for 2025-26. Pascal was chosen by a team vote.
Pascal and the Bulldogs have enjoyed a historic run recently, including back-to-back NCAA Tournament quarterfinals appearances and Ivy League Tournament Championships. The team's 44 overall wins the past three seasons are the most in program history for a three-year span.
"I attribute this team's success to our culture and dedication," said Pascal. "We are all so bought in every day to compete and make each other better. Our coaches like to say that nobody has a neutral impact — every day you can either be a positive or negative influence on the people around you, and we all work really hard to have a positive impact in everything that we do. It also does not hurt that we are all best friends and simply love playing lacrosse together."
In Pascal's sophomore season, 2024, the Bulldogs won the Ivy League regular season title and went 7-0 in Ivy regular season play for the first time in school history. They rallied from a 9-5 fourth-quarter deficit to win the Ivy League Tournament championship game, beating Penn 10-9 in overtime. That game stands out in Pascal's memory.
"My most memorable moment so far is winning the 2024 Ivy League [Tournament] Championship in OT," said Pascal. "Coming back from being down in the fourth quarter and ultimately getting it done was such a testament to the hard work we had put in and the belief we had in each other all year."
Yale's 17 wins that season set the school record, and the Bulldogs' 16 wins this past season are second-most in school history. Yale ended the 2025 season ranked No. 5 in the national polls.
Pascal has also shined individually, earning honorable mention All-America recognition from USA Lacrosse this past year. She was named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List. Pascal has earned first team IWLCA All-Northeast Region recognition for the past two seasons, and in 2024 she was a third team IWLCA All-America pick.
In addition to her national and regional honors, Pascal has earned All-Ivy honors every year of her career – including a second-team selection this year. She anchored a Yale defense that ranked No. 1 in the league and No. 4 in the nation in scoring defense (8.80). Yale held eight of its opponents to six or fewer goals, and the Bulldogs allowed only 21 shots per game. Pascal tied for third on the team in ground balls (27) and caused turnovers (15).
Pascal is also a key part of Yale's clears. The Bulldogs ranked sixth nationally and second in the Ivy League in clearing percentage (.936).
Pascal, who has started 56 of the 57 games Yale has played in her career, is a graduate of St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School. Her brother Luke is a sophomore on the Yale men's lacrosse team.
"I am so lucky to be so close to a piece of home," said Pascal. "Being able to see him around campus and cheer him on in his games is so fun."
Erica Bamford, Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse, praised Pascal's leadership skills.
"Emmy embodies all the characteristics of an exceptional captain for our Yale women's lacrosse team," said Bamford. "She has been a natural leader since her arrival at Yale, earning the respect of her teammates and coaches as well as the honor of leading our team. I look forward to the start of another year elevating our program under Emmy and the entire senior class's leadership."
Pascal is part of a rising senior class that also includes attacker
Megan Kitagawa (Syosset, N.Y.), midfielder
Jordan Messina (Sayville, N.Y.), attacker
Ashley Newman (Manhasset, N.Y.), defender
Bella Saviano (Severna Park, Md.) and defender
Sarah Waits (McLean, Va.).
An economics major, Pascal has interned in wealth management at Morgan Stanley and worked as a lacrosse coach. She is the One Love Foundation ambassador for Yale women's lacrosse. She spent the summer of 2023 studying at the London School of Economics and Political Science. This past summer she interned for Madison Square Garden in sports business operations.
Pascal is the third Yale women's lacrosse captain from Virginia.
- 1991: Hilary Vaughan (Alexandria, Va.)
- 2021, 2022: Kelsey Dunn (McLean, Va.)
- 2026: Emmy Pascal (Lorton, Va.)
