Sam Rubin
The Yale women’s lacrosse team (2–1, 0–0 Ivy) took down Hartford (0–4, 0–0 America East) on Tuesday in its third and final match before the commencement of Ivy League play.
The dominant 17–10 victory at the nearby Al-Marzook Field saw the Elis maintain its lead throughout the full 60, with eight different players making their mark on the scoresheet. A strong start and tight defensive play allowed the Blue and White to dictate the pace the moment the match began, slotting five goals past the Hawks goalkeeper in the first 10 minutes to jump ahead to a 5–0 lead.
Midfielder JoJo Gum ’23 responded to Hartford’s first goal of the game, latching onto a ball provided by attacker Anna Bowers ’22 to score the first goal of her career and protect Yale’s five-goal leading margin.
The Elis began the second half with a score of 9–3. The Hawks rallied from their poor showing in the first 30, scoring a quick goal in the first 11 seconds of play. Yale, eager to shut down any chance of a comeback after its second-half capitulation in the previous match, tempered the Hawks’ hopes with a goal from midfielder Bri Carrasquillo ’23 exactly 100 seconds later — marking her second hat trick in just as many games. The Alpharetta, Georgia native would go on to up her tally to five by the end of the game.
“I think the game went well, we have a few things to work on before Penn but it was a good game to practice and perfect the little things,” Carrasquillo said. “We’re super excited for our first Ivy League match of the year and I think as long as we continue to build chemistry we will be successful on Saturday.”
Attacker Amanda Hartzell ’21 had a strong showing on the day after having missed the first two years of her career through injury. She capitalized on a free position shot with 6:22 left on the clock to score her first career goal to the tune of her teammates’ wild cheers on the bench.
Midfielder Olivia Markert ’21 also bagged a hat trick for the Elis, scoring her third goal, the game’s last, with 2:08 left on the clock. The Centreville, Virginia native, who finished second in the team’s scoring tables last season, has now upped her tally this season to 11 goals. Her goal was enough to close the game out 17–10 for the Elis.
Attacker Isabelle Webster ’21 was the third Bulldog on the day to finish the match with a three-goal tally. Two of them came early on in the first half, while the last was a quick response to Hartford’s eighth.
Head coach Erica Bamford took advantage of the Elis first-half lead to swap out goalkeeper Clare Boone ‘22 for Amelia Drake ’21. Both performed well when called upon, with Boone making five saves and Drake equaling her tally.
The Elis will now turn their focus towards preparing for this Saturday’s match against No. 13 Penn. The 2019 NCAA tournament participant has not been on the losing side of the scoresheet against the Bulldogs in the last decade. Their lone loss came in 2004, when the then-nationally ranked Bulldogs recorded a 14–7 win.
In their last meeting with the Quakers, the Elis slipped to a 10-goal deficit before responding with one of their own. Goals came from Markert, midfielder Jill Gollob ’22 and attacker Rachel Anderson ’22.
“We had a strong win against Hartford, and we are looking forward to playing in our first Ivy League match against Penn,” captain Vanessa Yu ’20 said. “Historically, they are tough competitors, but this year, our team is ready to play with confidence and compete fiercely. We have worked incredibly hard this year and have built not only a dynamic offense, but also a strong defense. I’m excited to see our team fight in our first Ivy game.”
Ivy League play begins for the Blue and White this Saturday at 1 p.m. when they take on No. 13 Penn at Reese Stadium.
Ryan Chiao | ryan.chiao@yale.edu