The women’s lacrosse team had additional inspiration Saturday as the Bulldogs topped the Columbia Lions, 12–4: It was “Powerful in Pink” day at Reese Stadium, and the Bulldogs honored members of the Yale women’s lacrosse family impacted by cancer in a pregame ceremony.

“We had extra motivation going in to the game as we all were playing for more than just a win against Columbia,” midfielder Krissy Chapman ’13 said.

Indeed, the Bulldogs (6–7, 3–3 Ivy League) played inspired lacrosse right off the bat as they jumped to a 4–0 lead over Columbia (5–7, 0–6 Ivy League) within the first 10 minutes of play. The first two Bulldog goals happened within 13 seconds of each other as defender/midfielder Kaitlyn Flatley ’11 started the scoring off a free position. Chapman followed with a goal off the draw control to make it 2–0.

“Everyone worked well together on offense, and we got eight different people involved in the scoring, which is always a good thing and shows the teamwork that we put into the game,” Flatley said.

Just two minutes after Chapman’s goal, attacker Myra Trivellas ’11 fed attacker Caroline Crow ’12 from behind the net for a goal.

Almost halfway through the first half, midfielder Logan Greer ’11 scored off a free position to bring the lead to four and force a Lion timeout. The Eli defense, anchored by goalie Whitney Quackenbush ’12, was able to hold the Lions scoreless until 8:56 in the first half when attacker Gabrielle Geronimo snuck a long distance shot past Quackenbush to put the Lions on the board. But the Bulldogs were able to score two more before halftime with tallies from attacker Jess Sturgill ’10 and Chapman’s second of the day.

“The quick slides to Columbia’s top scorers were great,” Quackenbush said. “[Defender] Michele [Fiorentino ’10] did a fantastic job handling [attacker Brittany Shannon] and everyone else was there for the quick slide when other people got beat.”

The Bulldogs started the second half where they left off, scoring the first three goals. Attacker Devon Rhodes ’13 recorded two, including her 26th goal of the year, and Flatley buried her 20th of the year off a forced turnover by Chapman.

The Lions got back on the board nine minutes into the half when midfielder Olivia Mann made it 9–2. Just a minute later, the Lions had another opportunity with a free position, but Quackenbush, who saved all five Columbia free positions, made the stop to keep the Lions at two.

Minutes later, the Bulldog defense came through as Crow and Greer both scored their second goals of the day to make it 11–2. But the Lions had not given up yet as attacker Kacie Johnson placed on past Quackenbush.

With 2:21 remaining, midfielder Kelsea Smith ’13 recorded the final Bulldog goal to make it 12–3. The Lions had one last surge when Johnson scored with 1:35 left to seal the score at 12–4.

“The offense really connected this game,” Chapman said. “We have been working and improving all season, and things definitely clicked in this game.”

Fiorentino finished the game with three caused turnovers while Quackenbush recorded a total of 12 saves.

With the win, the Bulldogs are closer to reaching the Ivy League Tournament as they go into two important games this weekend against No. 14 Georgetown and Cornell.

“This win definitely gives us a boost of confidence going into Georgetown and more importantly Cornell,” Flatley said. “Cornell is a must-win for us in order to place into the Ivy League Tournament.”

The Bulldogs will face Georgetown at Reese Stadium on Friday night at 7 p.m.