Though the women’s lacrosse team scored the first goal of the game within the first minute, Cornell (5–7, 3–4 Ivy) netted the next 13 goals en route to its 14–3 victory on Saturday at Reese Stadium.
It was the Bulldogs’ fourth straight loss and sixth straight conference loss. The team still has yet to win a game in the Ancient Eight.
Midfielders Devon Rhodes ’13 and Adrienne Tarver ’14 said they were disappointed by the results of the game.
“Cornell is a good team, but they weren’t anything stellar,” Tarver said. “I thought we matched up pretty well skill-wise to the Cornell team.”
Rhodes said that the point differential was unexpected because the team focused on shooting and capitalizing on offense in practice last week.
Tarver scored all three goals for the Yale team, while goalkeeper Erin McMullan ’14 made 10 saves in just over 35 minutes.
Attacker Caroline Crow ’12, who is second on the team with 12 goals, missed her second game of the season due to a concussion suffered earlier in the spring. Midfielder Logan Greer ’11 said last week that the loss of Crow for the past two games has made it difficult for the team organize on offense. Midfielders Adrienne Tarver ’14 and Devon Rhodes ’13 said that Crows absence against the Big Red played a large role in the loss.
“Caroline’s presence is a strong one, so it was tough not having her out there on the attacking side,” Tarver said.
The Bulldogs controlled just three of 19 draws and had only 11 shots to Cornell’s 34. The Bulldogs also picked up just 16 ground balls, while the Big Red captured 24.
On top of the loss of Crow, players said that wet and rainy weather on Saturday also contributed to the Bulldogs’ poor offensive performance.
“All over the field, we had difficulty getting ground balls partially because it was so wet and messy out,” said Tarver.
Tarver scored the first goal of the match in the first minute of the game. After 13 Cornell goals, Tarver struck again with back-to-back goals in the 22nd and 26th minutes in the second half.
“At that point, everyone was trying to create space so that we could drive in goals,” Tarver said about those last two scores. “It was tough to get settled and organized.”
The Big Red scored the final goal of the game with 1:03 remaining.
Head coach Anne Phillips said that despite the loss, she was impressed with the performance of the team’s freshmen.
“The freshmen are coming along, players like Jen DeVito and Tarver on offense, and Kallie Parchman on defense,” head coach Anne Phillips said in a press release. “The freshmen are starting to adjust to the D-I level, and that bodes well for the future.”
Looking forward, the team has just two more games remaining this season. The Bulldogs will face Brown next week in their last Ivy League matchup.
“We need to prove it to ourselves and to everyone that we are capable of winning and that we are a great team,” Rhodes said.
The Bulldogs will face the Bears at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.