Yale Athletics

In the second round of the 2025 NCAA women’s lacrosse tournament, the No. 7 seed Yale Bulldogs (16–3, 5–2 Ivy) took on the Syracuse Orange (10–9, 5–4 ACC) and pulled out a hard-fought 9–8 victory. 

Last year, Yale faced a talented Syracuse squad in the quarterfinals and lost 19–9 in blow-out fashion.  However, this year, the Elis took their revenge and squeaked out a nail-biting win. In the last quarter, Yale superstar Jenna Collignon ’25 also became the women’s lacrosse team’s all-time leading scorer with her second goal of the match, ending the game with 211 collegiate career goals.

“Yale is quite a bit older in terms of experience than Syracuse,” ESPN+ and Yale Broadcasting play-by-play announcer Justin Gallanty told the News. “They have been through countless games like that over the last four years, so it wasn’t surprising to see them be the team to pull out that kind of game so late with that much on the line.”

During the regular season, the two teams faced off in early April at Reese Stadium, and Yale prevailed  13–10. On Sunday, the pair met once again on the Bulldogs’ home turf, but this time, the stakes were much higher. The Orange went to the Final Four in 2023 and 2024, but Yale was looking to advance to the quarterfinals for the second year in a row. 

For the seniors, a loss would have meant the end of their collegiate lacrosse careers. 

“This senior class is competitive, passionate. They love lacrosse and they love each other,” head coach Erica Bamford said in a post-game interview. “I can’t coach heart.” 

Both teams looked nervous at the beginning of the game, and neither scored in the first nine minutes. However, Yale didn’t take much longer to settle in, quickly putting three in a row in the back of the cage. Their momentum was short lived, as Syracuse followed with a five-goal scoring streak. Yale then managed to sneak in one final point before the end of the first half to come within one of the Orange. 

At the beginning of the second half, the Orange stretched its lead to 7-4. However, within the first minute-and-a-half of the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs managed to knot the score at 7-7. 

“It was really a game of adjustments,” Gallanty said. “It was all about who was going to be on the run when the game ended.”

Four minutes into the final quarter, first-year Syracuse midfielder Caroline Trinkaus fired a shot past Yale goaltender Niamh Pfaff ’28 to put the Orange up one. While other teams may have panicked in this situation, the experience of an older Yale squad helped them stay calm.  

Suddenly, after a quiet first three quarters, Collignon came to life. She scored two goals in the final seven minutes to complete a hattrick and end Syracuse’s season. 

“She put the team on her back and got that game winning goal,” Bamford said of Collignon. 

“It’s an amazing feeling, but I couldn’t do it without every single other person on my team,” Collignon said post-game. 

On the other side of the field, the Eli defense also stepped up in big ways countless times this afternoon.

Molly McGuckin ’25 forced several key turnovers, and her strip of Syracuse star Emma Ward at the end of the first half was particularly timely. Emmy Pascal ’26 was another stable presence on the back-end, making multiple important clears to afford the Yale attack with more offensive opportunities. 

“Our defense stood really strong this entire game and especially when we needed it in that fourth quarter,” Bamford said. 

After the nail-biting win, the Yale women’s lacrosse team will head to Boston later this week to take on the defending national champion Boston College. 

The Eagles are the No. 2 seed in this year’s tournament, and they will host the Elis in a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.