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Coming off of a historic win against Penn (3–7, 0–2 Ivy), the Yale women’s lacrosse team (6–2, 3–0 Ivy) defeated Brown (5–4, 2–1 Ivy) 15–13 last Saturday and rose to 3–0 in conference play.

After an impressive come-from-behind victory over Penn last weekend — their first victory over Penn since 2014 — the Bulldogs were hungry for more as they prepared for their next conference game. Despite being ranked seventh in the Ivy League Preseason Poll, the Bulldogs have turned things around. They are currently leading the league in both conference and overall records. Their prowess, however, was not enough to secure them a spot in the latest Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. 

“We were preseason seventh in the Ivy League,” captain Kelsey Dunn ’22 said. “Regardless of if we are now top-25 or not, we will continue to play with that chip on our shoulder.” 

Before the matchup, there was a ceremony to honor Yale Lacrosse alum and Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai for his donation that was used to build the Tsai Lacrosse Field House, a 34,800 square foot athletic facility next to Reese Stadium. 

Throughout the season, the Bulldogs have remained composed regardless of the score and how the games have started.

Against Brown, Yale started the game down 4–0, the Bulldogs came back quickly, scoring 10 unanswered goals late in the first quarter and throughout most of the second. The Bulldogs played great team lacrosse to get back into the game and take the lead, as five of the goals in their 10 goal run were off of assists. Fallon Vaughn ’25 got one assist, while Liv Penoyer ’23 and Taylor Everson ’25 each got two.

After the 10-goal run, there was a lot more back and forth, but Yale ended up taking the victory 15–13, holding onto the 14–10 lead they had early in the fourth. For Brown, junior middie Mia Mascone carried the offense scoring two goals early in the first. By the end of the game, she had netted five goals and put up an assist.

“Brown came out strong and got us on our heels early. Our women were able to shift the momentum starting with Jenna Collignon ’25 and Taylor Lane ’25 on the draw,” head coach Erica Bamford remarked.

The freshmen on the team have provided Yale with the spark they have needed, as 12 of Yale’s 15 goals came from rookies. Lane and Vaughn led the scoring with four goals apiece, along with Collignon, who scored three in the matchup.

The Bulldogs saw significant success off the draw as well, winning 22 to Brown’s 10. There were only 12 ground balls picked up in aggregate throughout the game, with Yale and Brown splitting them evenly.

Yale’s success off the draw demonstrated a significant improvement compared to last week, where Penn won 17 to Yale’s eight. 

On the defensive end, the Blue and White showed off their grit by disrupting the flow of Brown’s offense, holding the entire team to two assists, only allowing 25 shots, 19 of which were on cage. Goalie Clare Boone ’23 made six saves, bringing her tally up to 54 for the season. 

Though sitting atop the Ivy standings at the midseason point is promising, the work isn’t over yet.

“I’m so proud of how our team gritted out back-to-back Ivy wins against Penn and Brown. In both games, we competed really hard and executed our game plan. We’re just going to continue working hard and carry this momentum into our next game against Army on Tuesday,” Boone said.

The women’s lacrosse team’s next game will be against Army at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 5 at Reese Stadium.