In its first home game of the season, the Yale women’s lacrosse team opened with a big win against in-state rival Quinnipiac.

The Bulldogs (1–1, 0–0 Ivy) claimed an 18–6 victory over the Bobcats (0–2, 0–0 Metro Atlantic) in large part thanks to a 6–0 run in the first half and a 9–0 spree that encompassed much of the second half. The win was pivotal in getting the season back on track after a 13–5 season-opening loss on Saturday to George Washington in snowy conditions.

“The game went really well overall,” defenseman Victoria Moore ’17 said. “We also did a good job on the ride, and we didn’t let Quinnipiac get any easy fast break goals. We made good connections in the midfield transition and our passing game looks great.”

Captain and attacker Kerri Fleishhacker ’15 set the tone for the matchup, scoring just 31 seconds into the game with an unassisted shot. This was followed by a second Eli goal less than two minutes later, this one scored by midfielder Christina Doherty ’15.However, Quinnipiac kept pace in the initial moments of the game, answering with its own pair of goals to tie it up 2–2 after the first six minutes. But the Bobcats could not hold on for long. Midway through the frame, Yale went on the first of its two major runs, scoring six goals in seven minutes from five different Bulldogs, including another two goals from Fleishhacker, who leads the team with five this season.

A few more scoring opportunities brought the half to a close with a 9–4 score favoring the Elis. Yale would retain a lead of at least four goals for the remainder of the game.

The Bobcats opened the second half with a tally of their own just 25 seconds in, but they were no match for the string of goals that followed from the Eli offense. Yale dominated the rest of the game, going on to score nine goals in row and limiting Quinnipiac to just one more goal in the last two minutes to bring the final score to 18–6.

According to midfielder Kelly Anne Sherlock ’16, maintaining possession and preventing turnovers in order to allow for more scoring opportunities were goals for the team entering the game. Yale showed progress on both of those fronts against Quinnipiac. The team took 43 shots throughout the contest — more than double the 19 shots the Elis took last weekend against George Washington — while holding Quinnipiac to just 15 of their own. Yale also committed only nine turnovers, an improvement from its total of 20 while playing against the Colonials.

“We were able to fast break and really connect on transition passes, which is something that was not working for us in the conditions on Saturday,” midfielder Sophie Mussafer ’17 said. “We ran our plays and took control of the game right from the start, which has been our goal and I think a huge part of the outcome. Our defense also really stepped up with a lot of caused turnovers and interceptions.”

The team found success in large part due to its depth and skill with free position shots. Eight different players scored for the Bulldogs, and after going 1–8 on free position shots against George Washington, the Elis went 5–10.

Yale aims to earn another win this weekend as they host Canisius this Sunday. The Golden Griffins have yet to win a game this season, though all three of their previous losses came at the hands of ranked competition.

“We came out this game ready to crush Quinnipiac, and we did just that,” defenseman Flannery Carney ’16 said. “The team looked great [last night], and we need to carry on these good vibes into the next game against Canisius on Sunday.”

The Bulldogs will not take on an Ivy opponent until March 7, when the team will face Cornell.