Box Score ITHACA, N.Y. – The No. 13 Yale women's lacrosse team battled all the way back from an early three-goal deficit to tie the game in the third quarter at Schoellkopf Field against RV Cornell Saturday. And after Cornell went back ahead by one, the Bulldogs tied the game again, 8-8, with 1:42 to play. But three straight Big Red goals after that ultimately proved to be too much to overcome. A late Yale rally fell short and Cornell kept its hopes of making the Ivy League Tournament alive with an 11-10 win.
The loss, Yale's first of the Ivy League season, means that Sunday's game between Brown and No. 25 Penn will have Ivy League regular season title implications. Yale has clinched at least a share of the title (its second in three years), and will claim the title outright if Penn loses. If Penn wins, the Bulldogs and the Quakers will share the title.
Either way, Yale has clinched the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Ivy League Tournament by virtue of a head-to-head win vs. Penn earlier this season.
After falling behind 3-0 early, Yale scored a pair of free position goals to get within 3-2 heading into the second quarter. A pair of two-goal runs by the Big Red sandwiched around a pair of goals by the Bulldogs left Yale facing a 7-4 deficit, but a buzzer-beater by senior attacker
Ashley Newman at end of second quarter pulled the Bulldogs within two at the break.
Yale would eventually tie the score 7-7 with 3:50 left in the third on a spectacular behind-the-back goal from first-year attacker
Kate Gould. After Cornell answered with a goal, first-year attacker
Whitney Froeb scored to tie the game 8-8 with 1:42 left in the third.
Cornell scored the final goal of the third and the first two of the fourth, and those proved to be the difference. A free position goal by first-year attacker
Nell Ducey got the Bulldogs within 11-9. After Yale closed to within 11-10 on a
Kelly Holmes goal with 1:18 left, Cornell won the draw and called timeout with 1:06 left. The Big Red then spent the final 66 seconds dodging Yale's high-pressure defense, eventually running out the clock to seal the victory.
Yale drops to 12-3 (6-1 Ivy League) on the season while Cornell improves to 9-6 (4-3 Ivy League).
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Three Bulldogs scored a team-best two goals: first-year attacker Nell Ducey, first-year attacker Kate Gould and sophomore attacker Kelly Holmes.
- Junior attacker Ashley Kiernan had a game-high three assists and four points (1-3-4).
- Gould and senior defender Emmy Pascal had a team-best two draw controls each.
- Junior defender Katie Clare and junior defender Sydney Grogan had a game-high (tie) two caused turnovers.
- Clare and Gould tied for the team lead in ground balls with two.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Niamh Pfaff made nine saves.
TURNING POINT
- After Yale tied the game 8-8 in the third, Cornell won the ensuing draw control and scored 55 seconds later. The Big Red wound up holding Yale scoreless from 1:42 in the third until 4:18 remained, building up a three-goal lead that could not be overcome.
KEY STAT
- Cornell had a 16-7 advantage in draw controls.
NOTES
- Pascal, a Tewaaraton nominee as one of the 25 best players in the country based largely on her defensive play, got her second career assist Saturday. She set up Ducey at 12:19 of the second on a fast break after winning a draw control.
- Three of the last four games in this series have been decided by two or fewer goals.
- Yale had won four of the last five in the series at Cornell, including a pair of wins in Ithaca.
AROUND THE IVY LEAGUE
- Columbia 11, Harvard 10 OT
- No. 24 Princeton 17, Dartmouth 7
- Brown at No. 25 Penn (Sunday, 12:00 p.m.)
WHAT'S NEXT
- Yale hosts the Ivy League Tournament next weekend. The Bulldogs are the No. 1 seed and will play the No. 4 seed Friday at 4:00 p.m. in the first semifinal game. If Brown wins at Penn Sunday, the Bears will be the No. 4 seed. If Penn beats Brown, Cornell will be the No. 4 seed. Penn and Princeton have already clinched the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively.
