LOWELL, Mass. – Having graduated a class of 16 from last year's team that made the NCAA Quarterfinals, the No. 12 Yale women's lacrosse featured several new faces in the season opener Saturday at Cushing Field against UMass Lowell. Seven players made their first career starts, another three made their first career appearances – and the Bulldogs did not miss a beat. They came away with a dominant 14-4 win over the River Hawks.
The Bulldogs finished last season with the No. 4 scoring defense in the nation, and they picked up where they left off on Saturday. Yale limited the River Hawks to 17 shots and eight shots on goal, holding UML scoreless for the final 22:20.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Niamh Pfaff (six saves) put an exclamation mark on the defensive performance, denying a UML free position shot in the final seconds to keep the River Hawks off the board.
Meanwhile, the Yale offense displayed great balance. The Bulldogs got hat tricks from three players – first-year midfielder
Kate Gould, sophomore attacker
Kelly Holmes and junior attacker
Ashley Kiernan — and points from seven players.
Yale (1-0, 0-0 Ivy League) never trailed. UMass Lowell falls to 2-1, 0-0 America East.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- First-year midfielder Kate Gould, sophomore attacker Kelly Holmes and junior attacker Ashley Kiernan tied for the game high with three goals each.
- Gould and Kiernan tied for the game high with four points (3-1-4) each.
- Gould had a game-high six draw controls.
- Junior defender Katie Clare and senior defender Emmy Pascal tied for the game high with three caused turnovers each.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Niamh Pfaff made six saves.
TURNING POINT
- After UML closed to within 3-2, Yale outscored the River Hawks 5-1 in the second quarter and never looked back.
KEY STAT
- Yale scored on six of its seven free position shots.
NOTES
- Gould and Holmes had hat tricks before the first half was even over. Gould scored her third goal at 6:05 of the second quarter and Holmes scored her third at 2:57 of the second quarter.
- Kiernan got her hat trick with a goal at 8:24 of the fourth.
- Gould, first-year midfielder Meg Bohan, first-year midfielder Whitney Froeb and first-year midfielder Kaitlyn Roth scored their first career goals.
- Froeb, Gould, Holmes, Kiernan, senior attacker Megan Kitagawa, junior attacker Lily Spinner and sophomore midfielder Lindsay Thomas made their first career starts.
- Bohan, Roth and first-year midfielder Nell Ducey made their first career appearances.
- Yale matched last season's margin of victory against the River Hawks. The Bulldogs won 16-6 in 2025.
WHAT'S NEXT
- Yale hosts Quinnipiac Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.
