Buoyed by two second-half offensive explosions, the women’s lacrosse team finished the weekend with two wins against nonleague opponents.
On Friday, the Elis beat California 10–7 at Reese Stadium, and the team added another win on Sunday at Lehigh with a 16–8 victory. This season, the Bulldogs (6–4, 0–3 Ivy) have played very well against opponents outside the Ivy League. They have not lost a nonconference game since dropping their season opener to Holy Cross 16–13 back in February.
The Elis were engaged in a back-and-forth battle for most of the first half against Cal (5–4, 3–0 MPSF). Despite Yale opening up a 3–1 lead 10 minutes into the game, the Golden Bears went on to score five of the next six goals to take a 6–4 lead over the Bulldogs. Team captain Devon Rhodes ’13 scored five seconds before halftime, and Yale tied the game seven minutes into the half, but Cal again took the lead 7–6 at the 17-minute mark. The Elis, however, scored four unanswered goals to close the game and condemned the Bears to defeat.
The game featured six different scorers. Midfielder Nicole Daniggelis ’16 led the team in scoring with three goals on seven shots and one assist. Rhodes scored two goals and assisted on two more while midfielder Cathryn Avallone ’15 added two goals of her own. In addition, Kerri Fleishhacker ’15, Christina Doherty ’15 and Erin Magnuson ’15 each contributed one goal apiece.
“I think our offense has been spectacular due to the selflessness of each attacker on the field,” goalkeeper Erin McMullan ’14 said. “The attackers did a great job to control the tempo and find the open girl. We held the ball and took high-percentage shots.”
Yale won the ground ball battle 18 to 12, and had more draw controls with 11 and outshot the Bears 29–28 to start the weekend on a good note. McMullan also posted a season-best save percentage of 53.5 percent, recording eight saves.
On Sunday against Lehigh (3–8, 1–3 Patriot), Yale used its momentum and scored the first goal of the contest, but the team again was locked in a tight first-half battle, going into the locker room in a 4–4 tie. The contest continued to be close well into the second half with Yale scoring five goals and Lehigh adding four to leave the score at 9–8 with 20 minutes to play. From that point on, the Bulldogs dominated the game, scoring seven straight goals to thoroughly bury the Mountain Hawks.
Yale again spread the scoring around with seven players registering goals in the contest. Rhodes, Magnuson, Doherty and Avallone each scored two goals, while attacker AnnaElise Morello ’16 opened her collegiate scoring with a hat trick. Daniggelis again led the team with four goals. H owever it was her record-setting performance on draw controls that truly set her apart. Daniggelis won 15 controls and tied the Ivy League record for controls in a single game.
“It’s great setting the record, but I couldn’t have done it without the great circle play and box out from all our middies,” Daniggelis said. “Now it’s just a mark I look forward to try and break again.”
Yale will look to win its first Ivy League game in a noon showdown next Saturday against Princeton at Reese Stadium.