WOMEN’S LACROSSE: No. 16 Bulldogs fall in Top 25 showdown
The Yale women’s lacrosse team suffered a setback against No. 17 UPenn when it fell to the Quakers 16–6.
Yale Athletics
The No. 16 Yale women’s lacrosse team (9–3, 3–1 Ivy) lost its chance at completing an undefeated Ivy season after a 16–6 loss to the No. 17 University of Pennsylvania Quakers (7–4, 3–0 Ivy) on Saturday.
The Bulldogs started strong, leading 4-3 at the end of the first quarter, but that would prove to be the high point for the team.
The second and third quarters went significantly worse for the Elis, as they were shut out while the Quakers went on an 11–0 run. The hole they found themselves in proved to be too much, as UPenn cruised to a 16–6 win.
“Our recent loss against Penn does not define the team we are, and the team we have created this past season,” Alex Hopkins ’25 said. “We take this loss and learn from it and I am confident that we will reflect and perform as a team better than we have ever prepared before for a game.”
The loss dropped the Bulldogs to second place in the Ivy League with a record of 3–1 and sets up a dramatic end of the season, as two of their final three games will come against teams sitting at 2–2.
Next weekend will be an especially important game, as the Elis will travel to Cambridge to take on rivals Harvard.
“For our next Ivy games we are focusing on being more detail-oriented,” Sophie Straka ’25 said. “Making sure we control all the little things we can control so that we get the outcomes we want.”
Despite the setback, the Bulldogs remain the cream of the crop in the Ivy League as the highest nationally ranked women’s lacrosse team among the Ancient Eight.
The focus will now be on moving forward, learning from the loss and finishing out the final three regular season games strong before entering Ivy playoffs.
“We never want to be the same team as we were yesterday,” Marymegan Wright ’25 said. “In other words, we’re always striving to get better.”
The bright spots for the Bulldogs came from a pair of sophomores on offense and a strong goaltending duo.
Attacker Jenna Collignon ’25 and midfielder Taylor Lane ’25 both posted hat tricks, while goalies Cami Donadio ’25 and Luanna Summer ’24 combined to make a season-high ten saves for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs will travel to Harvard Stadium this Saturday for a 3:30 pm showdown with the Crimson.