NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The No. 16 Yale women's lacrosse team faces No. 20 Princeton Sunday (12:00 p.m.,
ESPN+,
International Stream,
Live Stats,
Tickets) in the Ivy League Tournament championship game at Reese Stadium. This is the second straight season that these two teams have met in the ILT Championship game; last year at Princeton, the Bulldogs won 17-6. The Bulldogs won the league's regular season title and will now seek to add their third straight Ivy League Tournament title.
Last Game
Yale (13-3, 6-1 Ivy League), the No. 1 seed in the Ivy League Tournament, advanced to the Ivy League Tournament championship game by
beating the No. 4 seed, RV Brown, 11-6 Friday at Reese Stadium. After falling behind 1-0, the Bulldogs scored the next five goals – and nine of the next 10 – to take control. Yale held Brown scoreless for 21:49 spanning the end of the second quarter and the majority of the third quarter.
Ivy League Title History
The Bulldogs' Ivy League title this season is the fourth Ivy title in school history:
- 1980 (4-0-2, shared with Penn)
- 2003 (6-1, shared with Dartmouth and Princeton)
- 2024 (7-0, solo)
- 2026 (6-1, solo)
The Bulldogs also have won two Ivy League Tournament Championships:
- 2024 at Reese Stadium
- 2025 at Class of 1952 Stadium
Ivy League Tournament
Yale is the No. 1 seed in the Ivy League Tournament for the second time in school history. The Bulldogs are hosting the tournament, which started with semifinal games Friday. The championship game is on Sunday (12:00 p.m.). All games are streamed on ESPN+. Ticket information is available by clicking
here. The winner of the tournament earns the Ivy League's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
This is the 15th installment of the Ivy League Tournament since 2010.
Yale's Ivy League Tournament History
This is Yale's fifth appearance in the Ivy League Tournament.
- 2022 (No. 2 seed) at Princeton:
- 2023 (No. 2 seed) at Penn:
- 2024 (No. 1 seed) at Yale:
- 2025 (No. 2 seed) at Princeton:
- 2026 (No. 1 seed) at Yale:
Ivy League Awards
Yale had six players and the coaching staff honored by the Ivy League on Tuesday as the league announced its annual awards.
- Senior defender Emmy Pascal (Lorton, Va.) was named Defender of the Year
- First-year attacker Kate Gould (Nyack, N.Y.) was named Rookie of the Year
- Yale's staff was named Ivy League Coaching Staff of the Year:
- Senior attacker Ashley Newman (Manhasset, N.Y.) was named Academic All-Ivy League
Two Bulldogs earned first team All-Ivy League recognition:
Two Bulldogs earned second team All-Ivy recognition:
One Bulldog earned honorable mention All-Ivy recognition:
Yale Class of 2026
Yale's six seniors have been a part of a memorable run. The team is 56-16 overall and 22-6 in Ivy League games in their time here. They are the winningest class in school history:
Strength of Schedule
Including Sunday's Ivy League Tournament semifinal game, eight of Yale's last 10 opponents are/were ranked or receiving votes in the ILWomen national poll.
The RPI Picture
As of Saturday morning, Yale has the best RPI in the Ivy League:
- 16 Yale
- 21 Princeton
- 27 Cornell
- 28 Penn
- 34 Brown
- 43 Dartmouth
- 61 Harvard
- 86 Columbia
RPI is one of the primary criteria that the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship Subcommittee uses to select at-large teams for the NCAA Tournament. Last year every team that was ranked No. 21 or better in the RPI made the tournament.
Defense is Key
Yale is ranked No. 4 in the nation in scoring defense (7.19 goals allowed per game). This comes on the heels of a 2025 season in which Yale finished No. 4 nationally in scoring defense (8.80 goals allowed per game) and a 2024 season in which Yale finished No. 3 nationally in scoring defense (8.35 goals allowed per game).
Home Cooking
Yale is 42-5 at Reese Stadium since the opening of Tsai Lacrosse Field House in 2021.
Ivy Success
Dating back to a win in the final Ivy League game of the 2020 season, Yale is 29-7 (.806) in its last 36 Ivy League regular season games and 36-9 (.800) in its last 45 games against Ivy opponents (including Ivy League Tournament games).
Pascal a Tewaaraton Nominee
Senior defender
Emmy Pascal (Lorton, Va.), Yale's captain, has been named one of 25 nominees for the Tewaaraton Award as the best college women's lacrosse player. Pascal is second in the Ivy League in caused turnovers (31) and is tied for fourth in the Ivy League in ground balls (37). Prior to being chosen as a Tewaaraton Award nominee, she was on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List alongside two other Bulldogs – first-year midfielder
Kate Gould (Nyack, N.Y.) and sophomore goalkeeper
Niamh Pfaff (Garden City, N.Y.).
A Decisive Shot Advantage
Yale has outshot its opponents 470-333 this season, an average margin of +8.6 shots per game.
Iron Women
Seven Bulldogs have started all 16 games of the season:
A Veteran Coaching Staff
This is Yale's 11th year under
Erica Bamford, Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse. Associate head coach
Colleen Smith is in her 10th year. Assistant coach/recruiting coordinator
Molly Palella is in her ninth year. Assistant coach
Brooklyn Neumen joined the staff last year. The quartet was named Ivy League Coaching Staff of the Year.
The Series vs. Princeton
Yale has won five of the last six in the series vs. Princeton. The Bulldogs are 2-1 against the Tigers in the Ivy League Tournament:
- A 17-6 win in the tournament championship game in 2025 at Princeton
- An 11-10 win in the tournament semifinals in 2023 at Penn
- A 19-9 loss in the tournament championships game in 2022 at Princeton
The Tigers
Princeton (10-6, 5-2 Ivy League) has won five in a row since a 10-9 loss in 2OT to Penn Apr. 8. The Tigers rank second in the Ivy League in goals per game (13.75) and assists per game (7.38). They lead the conference in save percentage (.508), thanks largely to Ivy League Co-Goalkeeper of the Year Amelia Hughes (.510 save percentage, 10.71 goals-against average).
Sunday Weather Forecast for New Haven, Conn.:
From the
National Weather Service: Mostly sunny, 60 degrees.
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