The Yale women’s lacrosse team took to the field on Wednesday night against No. 7 Stony Brook, a nonconference foe that featured three preseason All-Americans and had the appearance of a national-championship contender.
Although the Bulldogs (3–3, 0–1 Ivy) battled early to keep the game within reach, the home squad suffered a 20–10 defeat to the Seawolves (5–0, 2–0 America East) at Reese Stadium. Despite stretches when the Elis controlled possession, Stony Brook piled goals during other periods, allowing the visitors to build up a significant lead and leave the Bulldogs playing catch-up for most of the game. An 11–1 scoring run to end the first half doomed the Elis to an insurmountable deficit that finalized their second consecutive loss.
“The outcome of the game is certainly not what we wanted,” head coach Erica LaGrow said. “[We] credit Stony Brook for taking us out of our game plan. Moving forward, we need to clean up some details of the game and compete for 60 minutes.”
The Seawolves scored the opening goal, but Yale’s offense found room to work in front of the Stony Brook net and answered by scoring two goals in the face of goaltender Anna Tesoriero to seize an early 2–1 advantage. However, a 3–0 scoring run led by two strikes form Seawolf midfielder-attacker Keri McCarthy put Stony Brook ahead 4–2.
After the visitors took the lead, LaGrow pulled starting goalie Allie Carrigan ’19 in favor of Sydney Marks ’18.
A pair of goals from attackers Tess McEvoy ’17 and Izzy Nixon ’19 evened the score at 4–4, but from that point on it was all Stony Brook in the first half. The Seawolves’ scoring offense, which entered the game ranked sixth in Division I lacrosse, erupted to produce a 11–1 scoring run that all but eradicated any chance of a Bulldog victory.
Stony Brook attacker Kylie Ohlmiller, who entered the contest ranked first in the nation with 7.25 points per game, led the offensive eruption by scoring six goals during that span. Midfielder Dorrien Van Dyke chipped in another three goals to aid the effort and give the Seawolves a 15–5 lead as the teams headed into halftime.
As the second half progressed, Stony Brook’s nation-leading scoring defense did enough to keep the Bulldogs’ offense at bay: Tesoriero and the Seawolves conceded just five goals, the second half while holding Yale’s leading scorer in attacker Hope Hanley ’17, without a score. The visiting netminder continued to conjure save after save, preventing Yale from mounting a comeback attempt and preserving the Seawolves’ cushion.
A late goal scored by captain and attacker McEvoy gave the Bulldogs their fifth tally of the second half and marked the first time this season that Stony Brook surrendered double-digit goals. But the Bulldogs ultimately fell to the Seawolves by a score of 20–10, dropping Yale to 3–3 on the season.
“Playing a team as strong as Stony Brook was an awesome opportunity for us,” midfielder Taryn Gallagher ’18 said. “We went in with absolutely nothing to lose, and while today definitely wasn’t the resulted we wanted and had worked for, it was a great learning experience. Stony Brook exposed some of our weaknesses, and we’re all excited to get back to work at practice tomorrow.”
The Elis will look to rebound from the loss in a trio of games over spring break, including a pair against Ivy League conference foes. Yale’s first game of the stretch features a matchup against Niagara (2–1, 0–0 MAAC) in Buffalo, New York. The Purple Eagles are led on offense by midfielder Alexis Morales and attacker Rachel MacCheyne, who each boast 11 goals through three contests. Niagara is one of youngest teams the Bulldogs will face all the season, as underclassmen comprise 68 percent of its roster.
After the trip to upstate New York, Yale will head south to take on Brown (2–2, 0–1 Ivy). The Bears sport the fourth-stingiest defense in the county, having allowed just 6.75 goals per game thus far. Last season, however, Yale jumped out to a 5–1 advantage in New Haven and staved off a late Brown comeback attempt to win by a single score.
In their final game over the break, the Bulldogs will host No. 11 Cornell (3–1, 1–0) and will look to best the Big Red for the first time since a 13–8 victory in 2007. Cornell currently lays claim to the nation’s third-best defense, and its lone 2017 loss come against No. 5 Penn State.