Tag Archive: W. Lacrosse

  1. W. LACROSSE | Elis upset by No. 13 Cornell

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    Three straight Ivy wins proved too great a task for the women’s lacrosse team.

    The Elis left their home turf to take on No. 13 Cornell on Saturday only to return with a 17–9 loss despite a hat trick by attacker Kerri Fleishhacker ’15. With their defeat and the victories of the three third-place teams this weekend, Cornell, Harvard and Princeton, the Bulldogs had to settle for sixth place in the Ivy League.

    “Cornell was experienced and skilled and with seven starting seniors. We entered the game as the underdog,” head coach Anne Phillips said.

    Although Yale midfielder Christina Doherty ’15 won the face-off and took the first draw control, the Big Red retook control of the game by picking up a ground ball 50 seconds into the first half and scored within the next minute. However, with Doherty winning the draw again, midfielder Cathryn Avallone ’15 scored to even the score only 90 seconds after the hosts’ first goal.

    After Cornell replied with another goal, captain Caroline Crow ’12 created an opportunity for attacker Devon Rhodes ’13 to even out the score. Then at 21:24 midfielder Ashley McCormick ’14 rallied past the field and fired a shot that took Cornell goalie off guard to take Yale one ahead of the home team. However, Yale’s momentum broke when the Big Red came back with three more goals. The Elis finished the first half with Fleishhacker adding one more.

    “Cornell’s offense is one of the most potent offenses our defense has faced this year, since they have multiple weapons,” goalkeeper Erin McMullan ’14 said.

    She added that the hosts had more ball possessions for most of the first half, and for Yale to give up only five goals in the first half was actually quite remarkable.

    However, in the second half, the Big Red (9–4, 4–2 Ivy) stepped up its offense, going on an all-out scoring rampage against the Bulldogs. Within the first three minutes, Cornell rushed in two goals. Then a minute later, Yale’s Crow notched a goal of her own to reduce the scoring gap to two. Despite Fleishhacker’s attempt to narrow down the goal difference by scoring three goals for the Bulldogs, it was not enough to reverse the flow of the game that went to Cornell’s side early in the second half.

    Fleishhacker said the Cornell had a solid defensive unit that worked well together. She added that the defense consistently “swarmed the ball” when Yale had possession.

    Over the course of three minutes, the hosts doubled their score to make the game 12–6 in their favor. Yale (5–9, 2–5 Ivy) tried to rally back, with the upperclassmen attackers Rhodes and Crow moving quickly to score two more for the Elis. With Fleishhacker’s hat trick goal, the Bulldogs rounded out their comeback attempt with three minutes remaining in regulation.

    Phillips said offensively, the team’s attack did not handle the defensive pressure well and needed to be more composed.

    As Cornell pounded in two more goals in the last two minutes, the Elis had no choice but to concede defeat. Despite fairly good matchups in defense, Yale ended up allowing 17 goals, 12 in the second half alone.

    “Unfortunately, their offense got fired up after halftime and we couldn’t keep up,” McMullan said.

    The Elis outdid the Big Red in draw controls, 15–13, and McMullan recorded 17 more saves than her Big Red counterpart. However, the Big Red had four times the number of shots that Yale did, 45–11, and committed half the number of turnovers, 20–10.

    “Ultimately the 20 turnovers doomed our chances of winning,” Phillips said.

    Phillips also said although Yale won draw controls, shot extremely well, and McMullan had a season high 19 saves in goal, the team could not counter Cornell’s experience or its depth on the bench.

    The team has concluded its Ivy League season. The Bulldogs improved over last season’s standings, stepping up two notches and scoring a total of 54 goals in conference matches in comparison to 26 goals scored last season.

    “Our team has made great progress this year, though we had a lot of youth and inexperience,” Phillips said.

    She added that she is pleased with how hard the team has worked this season, and the experience gained will serve its program well in the future.

    The Elis will travel to Boston for their final match this season on Saturday for an away game against No. 17 Boston College.

  2. W. LACROSSE | Elis go for third Ivy win

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    The Elis will have a grand finale match to end the Ivy League season tomorrow against No.13 Cornell in Ithaca.

    After two comfortable victories against Columbia (13–9) and Brown (9–6) at home, Yale (5-8, 2-4 Ivy) succeeded in grabbing sixth place in the Ivies and is now fully prepared to take a giant leap toward the third spot in the conference standings. The Elis are short of one win compared to Cornell, Harvard and Princeton, the three teams that currently share third place in the Ivies. If Yale beats Cornell and attains a 3–4 record, and the third place teams — all playing other Ivy schools this weekend and next week — fall in their matches, Yale will enter the tie for third.

    “[Cornell is] an experienced team, but except for their advantage in experience, we can match-up fairly well with them,” head coach Anne Phillips said.

    The team has won their last two Ivy matches, against Brown and Columbia. Although the Bulldogs lost five of six of their away matches this season, the team members recovered confidence after storming in 22 goals to take down the two conference teams and are looking to clich its third Ivy win.

    “Our team is carrying a lot of positive energy to Ithaca this weekend,” Phillips said.

    When they last met in Reese Stadium, not even a marvelous hat trick by defender Adrienne Tarver ’14 did enough for the Elis to avoid the huge 14–3 defeat. Throughout the entire game, Cornell (8–4, 3–2 Ivy) was on a scoring rampage with no sign of slowing down. The Big Red outperformed the Bulldogs in almost all aspects of the game despite Yale’s home ground advantage. The Big Red tripled Yale in shots (34–11), had eight more groundballs (24–16) and controlled 13 more draws (16–3).

    Still, the team remains unphased by last year’s upset.

    “We are a much more athletic team than we were last year, and that will help us to compete with Cornell this year,” Phillips said. “Player experience is on Cornell’s side, fearlessness is on ours.”

    She added that Cornell is strong on offense whereas the Bulldogs excel at defense.

    Although Tarver is expected to return in tomorrow’s match, she has not scored any goals so far this season, as she has been focusing more on the defensive aspect of game. Meanwhile, Cornell’s team captain and star player Jessi Steinberg, was responsible for nearly a third of the goals scored against the Bulldogs last time the team’s met. She is also the lead scorer for the Big Red this season, with 37 goals under her name so far. Her accolades include the All-Ivy first team and IWLCA Northeast Region second-team in 2011. But Yale’s own captain Caroline Crow ’12 has scored 29 goals this season for the Elis.

    Another key Big Red player to keep an eye on is attacker Caroline Salisbury, who has also scored a goal against Yale last year. Trailing closely behind Steinberg, Salisbury is currently Cornell’s second top scorer with 30 goals.

    “We cannot afford [Steinberg and Salisbury] to have great games on Saturday, and they will be marked tightly all day,” Phillips said.

    With now only one final Ivy League match remaining, the Bulldogs will be betting on their ability to keep their winning momentum flowing. With 123 goals scored so far and still going strong, they just might have what it takes to sink the Big Red and decorate their last Ivy game with a refreshing hat trick victory.

    Phillips said as more players are contributing offensively in goals and assists, a balanced offense should help the team perform against Cornell and finish the conference season on a high note.

    Faceoff is at noon tomorrow.

  3. W. LACROSSE | Bulldogs blow out Brown to overtake sixth in Ivies

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    Yale trailed Brown 5–2 almost ten minutes into the second half of the two teams’ game Wednesday afternoon. The Bears had led 4–2 at the half, only to widen their lead 1:38 into the second.

    Then Yale’s offense came to life. Captain Caroline Crow ’12 scored a free position shot at 20:13, then sped past two defenders and fired a powerful shot low into the Brown net to make the score 5–4. Within the next two minutes, attacker Devon Rhodes ’13 and attacker Kerri Fleishhacker’s ’15 scored free-position goals of their own to make the score 6–5 and give Yale it would not relinquish.

    The Elis scored twice more before Brown could muster a response and held on for a 9–6 victory over the Bears. The victory lifted Yale (2–4, 5–8) into sixth place in the Ivy League, while Brown (1–4, 6–6) dropped to seventh. Just three days after taking down Columbia 13–9 at Reese Stadium, Wednesday’s win gave Yale its first winning streak of the season. Crow led the way for the home team with five goals.

    “It was a huge win and every player did so well,” Rhodes said.

    The Bears (6–6, 1–4 Ivy) ended up scoring the game’s first two goals five minutes after taking the face-off. Then, only two minutes after the visitors initiated scoring, Yale midfielder Cathryn Avallone ’15 succeeded in scoring the first goal for the Bulldogs to level the game.

    Head coach Anne Phillips said the first half was good, but the team struggled to win the draw.

    Following Avallone’s lead, Crow scored another goal, but the Bears added two more of their own to make the score 4–2 heading into halftime.

    In the second half, however, the Bulldogs fought back effectively.

    “We successfully ran different offense against Brown in the second period, which hurt [Brown] a lot,” Phillips said.

    After missing the draw, Yale gave up another goal at 28:23.

    Hopeful that the Elis could come out on top, the Bulldogs’ supporters kept up the energy in the stands, and the team started to perform.

    The Bulldogs fiercely retaliated by pouring in six goals until in the next fifteen minutes

    Crow mounted a relentless offensive campaign and recorded a hat trick by 18:24 into the second half. After two minutes, Fleishhacker’s free position shot finally broke the tie and put Yale ahead 6–5.

    The team did not stop its goal-scoring rally as Crow and Rhodes added a goal apiece, and Crow’s fifth goal of the game with eight seconds remaining sealed the match for the home team.

    The Bulldogs effectively controlled the game in almost every aspect except face-offs and shots. Brown outshot Yale 28–19 and won 10 draws to Yale’s seven.

    With 15 caused turnovers and 13 clears to Brown’s 10, the defense once again showed strength and did not leave any blind spots.

    “We played as a unit today and had one of our best defensive games,” defender Kallie Parchman ’14 said.

    She added that the team also improved its clears in the second half, which gave Yale’s offense opportunities to score.

    Despite her position, Crow also contributed to defense. The captain helped the team demonstrate strong transitions and caused a turnover towards the end of the half. The Bulldogs dominated in ground balls (22–19), which provided them with more goal possessions and attacking opportunities.

    “We had high ball possession, ate the clock and won,” Phillips said.

    Goalkeeper Erin McMullan ’14 recorded 12 saves with the help of her fellow sophomore defenders.

    “Erin McMullan played extremely well the whole game, but especially at the end of the game when she made some key stops in high-pressure situations,” Parchman said.

    Phillips said the defense and McMullan’s saves allowed the offense to have time and to be on track, which pressured Brown.

    The Bulldogs committed six fewer fouls than their opponents, although penalties have been an area with which the Elis have struggled in the past.

    Phillips said the Brown game was Yale’s first comeback win, and it is a sign that the team is moving to the right direction.

    Yale has scored 123 goals so far and has only two more matches remaining, one against Cornell and the other against Boston College. Although both matches are important, the Elis will be putting a heavier emphasis on the showdown against the Big Red because its outcome will play a part in determining Yale’s final Ivy standings.

    “We want to take this huge game momentum to the next game,” Rhodes said.

    After two home games, the Bulldogs will take to the road again when they take on Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y., on Saturday at noon.

  4. W. LACROSSE | McMullan ’14 charts future of Eli defense

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    Former soccer goalie Erin McMullan ’14 now plays a different sport, but her position has always been the same. As the women’s lacrosse team’s last line of defense, her teammates all rely on her.

    When asked to comment about McMullan’s play after any match, defender Kallie Parchman ’14 often says, “Erin McMullan had another great day in goal.” (With three players named Erin on the team ­— all with last names beginning with “M” — including the full last name is necessary.)

    Hailing from lacrosse stronghold Wading River, N.Y., McMullan started playing the sport in middle school.

    “Our high school team was so good that almost everyone played [lacrosse],” she said.

    Before Yale, she was second team All-Galaxy in 2009 and 2010 for the Long Island Yellow Jackets, where she met attacker Jen DeVito ’14. McMullan was also named Honorable Mention All-American in 2010.

    Despite her accomplishments in net during her high school years, McMullan said college lacrosse turned out to be a lot tougher than she had initially expected.

    “It was a big adjustment for me,” she said. “College was more demanding in every aspect, especially time-wise. Basically, the play elevated.”

    Although the Elis relied heavily on goalkeeper Whitney Quackenbush ’12 to guard the net last year, McMullan has also been instrumental in the team’s defense, playing in eight games and recording a .432 save percentage. This season, her save percentage is .447.

    Of all the team’s fierce and competitive matches, McMullan particularly remembers the one against Harvard, when the Bulldogs gave away seven goals but persistently fought back to score five goals in the first half.

    McMullan said Quackenbush has always been a true inspiration to her and an indispensable leader for the team.

    “We have a very good relationship, always supporting each other, and I have picked up a lot from her,” she said.

    This year, McMullan is seeing more field time and has played for more than 500 minutes. McMullan started in nine matches and recorded a total of 72 saves — 32 in Ivy games.

    As the team prepares for Quackenbush’s graduation this May, attacker Devon Rhodes ’13 said both McMullan and Quackenbush are extremely talented players.

    “[McMullan] has been playing tremendously and has stepped up so much lately,” Rhodes said.

    McMullan is well aware of her pivotal role within the young Bulldogs squad. Although stepping into the leadership position may put a burden on her shoulders, she does not seem to be worried: She has her protégé and partner, goalkeeper Erin Mullins ’15, to share the team’s guard duty with her.

    With only two games remaining before the season’s end, McMullan has a firmly set goal in mind.

    “What all matters is the Ivies,” she said. “We want to finish on high notes and beat Cornell and come out with a win.”

    McMullan, who intends to major in political science, said she feels honored to represent the school as a Bulldog and believes that Yale has always been the best fit for her.

    She added that she will continue to maintain her form by constantly practicing in summer leagues during the offseason.

    Now in sixth place in the Ivy League standings, the Bulldogs will once again rely on McMullan’s goaltending skills against Ivy leader Cornell in their season’s last Ivy match on Saturday.

  5. W. LACROSSE | Seniors dash past Lions

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    Seventeen minutes into the first half, captain Caroline Crow ’12 sprinted across the field to bring the Bulldogs into the lead against Columbia. The offensive run began when attacker Jen DeVito ’14 passed to fellow attacker Devon Rhodes ’13, who passed back to DeVito. After shaking off the opponent’s defense, DeVito spotted an opportunity and quickly assisted Crow, who rushed past the remaining defenders to blast a shot that shook the Lions’ net. The scoreboard shifted to 4–3 and the flow of the game turned in Yale’s favor.

    Yale would go on to beat Columbia 13–9 and maintained the lead for the rest of the game. Crow led the team with five goals.

    “I am really proud of our team since we all played well and gave it our best effort,” attacker Meghan Murray ’14 said.

    After suffering through four straight conference losses, the Bulldogs (4–8, 1–4 Ivy) took their first Ivy win and secured seventh place. The Lions (2–10, 0–6 Ivy), on the other hand, slipped to eighth. Head coach Anne Phillips said Columbia was a tenacious team that was very difficult to put away.

    Nevertheless, the Bulldogs celebrated Senior Day, which honored Crow and goalkeeper Whitney Quackenbush ’12, with a victory in front roughly 400 spectators at Reese Stadium.

    “These two seniors have played huge roles for this team over the past four years, and they did a tremendous job against Columbia,” head coach Anne Phillips said.

    Crow’s scoring rampage began just 40 seconds after the face-off. After a slow break transition, DeVito passed the ball to Crow, positioned right behind Rhodes. The captain then quickly moved past her would-be blockers and stormed into the Lions’ zone for a goal.

    Both teams exchanged goals for the next 17 minutes, with Columbia scoring three and the Elis adding two more, including a powerful eight-meter free position shot goal from midfielder Christina Doherty ’15. The tie broke in Yale’s favor when Crow recorded her hat trick, and the Elis controlled the game for the remainder of the first half.

    Rhodes also played a significant role as she added her 16th and 17th goals of the season, and assisted midfielder Erin Magnuson ’15 for the team’s seventh goal.

    After coming out of the locker room with a 7–4 record, the Elis continued to dominate the first three minutes of the second half. Crow initiated the half’s scoring with her fourth goal only 17 seconds after the face-off. Then midfielder Cathryn Avallone ’15 took the draw control, and within 10 seconds, midfielder Riley Foote’s ’15 shot found the Lions’ net, followed by yet another splendid goal from attacker Kerri Fleishhacker ’15.

    “We created a lot of great scoring opportunities for ourselves and capitalized on them,” Rhodes said.

    However, Yale’s scoring slew slowed down a bit as the Lions scored two goals in the following two minutes. Although Fleishhacker suppressed Columbia’s resurgence by adding her second goal of the game, the Lions quickly recovered and added three more goals within three minutes to bring the goal gap down to two.

    The Bulldogs responded by stepping up their offense’s aggression, but their shots kept going just shy of the goal and deflecting off the goalposts. The string of bad luck ended when the Elis’ captain again emerged to regain the offensive drive and widen the lead again. With only six minutes remaining until the whistle, Rhodes passed to a wide-open Crow, who shot without hesitation deep into the upper side of Columbia’s net.

    Although the Lions tried desperately to recuperate the deficit, goalie Quackenbush disappointed the visitors. With 2:35 remaining, as Columbia’s lead scorer Kaci Johnson rushed from the backside of the net and pulled off an unexpected powerful shot, Quackenbush went low for a superb block. The save effectively ended all hopes of recovery for the Lions, and Avallone sealed the game by scoring the match’s last goal for Yale.

    “It was great that we were able to come up with a win for our seniors who have given so much to the team the past four years,” Murray said.

    Besides scoring, the Bulldogs overwhelmed the Lions in every aspect, especially with ball possession, which was the pivotal component to the team’s precious win. Whereas it is usually Doherty or midfielder Sabine van der Linden ’15 who are given charge of the draws, the Bulldogs this time opted to give that job to Murray, who faced off against the Lions and recorded two more controls.

    “Columbia’s Kacie Johnson was able to offset van der Linden’s draw so we adjusted and had Meghan Murray draw to herself,” Phillips said.

    Yale recorded nine more shots (34–25) and one more ground balls (16–15) than the visitors, demonstrating dominance in its offense.

    “Our offense is multifaceted in that every single player is an offensive threat and that is extremely difficult to defend,” Rhodes said.

    The defense made a few huge stops, Murray added.

    Both defender Adrienne Tarver ’14 and defender Kallie Parchman ’14 got some key ground balls, and defender Ashley McCormick ’14 and defender Katherine Sherrill ’14 had caused a few turnovers, which pushed the ball up to the attack in transition.

    Yale also outdid Columbia in clears (18–13), and although the visitors recorded more saves, the home team’s defense really tightened up its zone, allowing only a few one-on-one situations against the goalkeeper. Quackenbush was then able to effectively serve as the last line of defense at crucial moments and recorded seven saves.

    Yale is now in seventh place in the Ivies, right behind the Bears because with one more loss. If the Bulldogs take down Brown this Wednesday at 4 p.m. at home, they will move up to sixth. The next place up is currently occupied by tying teams Harvard, Princeton and Cornell with three wins each.

    “Like Columbia, Brown is a very tenacious team, and we will have to mark closely three Brown attackers and limit their offensive opportunities,” Phillips said.

    After the game, the Yale squad signed autographs for their fans.

  6. W. LACROSSE | Elis held off by Tigers

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    With 24 seconds remaining on the game clock, women’s lacrosse attacker Jen DeVito ’14 sent a shot into the Tigers’ net after taking a pass from Meghan Murray ’14.

    Despite the dramatic finish, however, DeVito’s goal was not nearly enough for the Bulldogs to reverse the 12-4 score in their favor. The Elis have shown improvement with every successive road trip, but the team still fell short of picking up a conference victory on Saturday in Princeton. Even with captain Caroline Crow ’12 recording her fourth hat trick of the season, No.18 Princeton’s home-field advantage proved too big an obstacle for the visitors to overcome.

    “Today was a tough game, mentally and physically,” Murray said.

    For much of the first half after Yale attacker Sabin van der Linden ’14 and Princeton’s Caroline Rehfuss faced off, both teams were evenly matched. Although the Tigers (6-4, 3-1 Ivy) ended up scoring first at 22:49 by taking advantage of a turnover, the Bulldogs (3-7, 0-4 Ivy) paced their game, marking key players and trying to look for openings despite the goal deficit.

    Goalkeeper Erin McMullan ’14 said since Princeton allowed a lot of turnovers and ground balls, Yale kept Princeton off the scoreboard.

    “Our defense played one of the most amazing games and really kept us in the game the entire first half,” Murray said.

    Twenty-four minutes into the game, however, Yale began handing a goal almost every two minutes to the hosts. Crow barely avoided a first-half shutout by scoring Yale’s first goal with about a minute and a half before the whistle to close the first half 5-1 in Princeton’s favor. Considering the Tigers’ goal average of 12.50 per game, the Elis displayed outstanding defense.

    “Princeton was a great team on both ends of the field,” McMullan said.

    She added its defense was very scrappy, which limited Yale’s offensive opportunities to score.

    McMullan blocked a couple of near-goals, deflecting two of Princeton’s Cassie Pyle’s powerful shots at 18:24 and 17:41.

    Head coach Anne Phillips said McMullan played extremely well with five saves in the first half to keep Princeton’s offence in check.

    The Bulldogs began the second half on a bad note by giving away the draw control to the Tigers. Almost immediately, the hosts connected the draw to a clear and took it all the way into Yale’s net. From that point on, the Tigers began their goal barrage. Three minutes after their sixth goal, they added one more and within a minute, they slammed in another for a total of eight, crushing Yale’s hope of coming back in the second period. Although Phillips called for a strategic time out to slow down the opponents’ pace, it was not enough to stop the Tigers from adding yet another goal two minutes after the match resumed. To exacerbate the situation, the Bulldogs’ desperation began to be reflected in their number of fouls committed. The fouls allowed Princeton to put two more goals on the board to show a score gap of 10 between the hosts and the visitors once the Tigers dominated the flow of the game.

    However, the Bulldogs refused to give up. Twenty-one minutes into the second period, assisted by DeVito, Crow ended Yale’s goal draught, although her effort was again negated 40 seconds later when the Tigers returned the favor. Four minutes before the end of the match, Crow rushed into the Tigers’ zone and slammed in a goal to turn the score into 12-3, recording a hat trick while she was at it. Towards the end, when Princeton failed a clear attempt, Yale’s Murray and DeVito duo created a last minute goal chance, with Murray picking up the ball and DeVito rounding it out with a goal.

    Murray said that Princeton showed solid defense. She added that if Yale had had the ball for more time on attack, the team could have capitalized on the opportunities.

    Besides their high number of goals, the Tigers overwhelmed the Bulldogs in every aspect, except in saves (8-7). Draw control, traditionally one of Yale’s major strengths, recorded only half of Princeton’s total (12-6). The Elis also committed almost double the number of fouls the Tigers generated (21-11).

    Phillips said extra possession on the draws and seven turnovers on the clear gave Princeton 13 extra possessions, on which they capitalized.

    As for the number of shots taken, the Tigers outdid Yale’s 20 with their 33.

    “We cannot shoot that poorly and win against a team like Princeton,” Phillips said.

    The Bulldogs now have five matches remaining this season, with three of them Ivy League matches. Although the team has so far scored 93 times in total to surpass last season’s recorded goals, it has yet to grab a win in the Ivies.

    “We will continue to take one game at a time and work to improve shooting percentage, draw control and most importantly limit unforced turnovers,” Phillips said.

    After taking a four-day break, the Elis will travel to New York on Wednesday to take on Stony Brook at 3 p.m.

  7. W. LACROSSE | Bulldogs ready to handle Tigers

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    After taking a weeklong break, the women’s lacrosse team is set to play its first game in the month of April. Shifting their attention to the Ivy League competition, the Bulldogs will head to New Jersey in an attempt to grab their first Ancient Eight win against No. 18 Princeton. Although Yale (3–6, 0–3 Ivy) was finally able to secure its first away win of the season against Marist last week in New York, it failed to create a winning streak on the road after falling to Colgate 16–12 last Saturday. Princeton (4–4, 2–1 Ivy) has been showing relative strength in the Ivies, currently positioning itself in fourth place in the league.

    Attacker Devon Rhodes ’13 said Princeton is a talented team that is fast, strong and great at ball handling.

    None of the Ivy opponents that the Tigers have played against this season have overlapped with the teams that the Elis have faced. Princeton traveled to Brown and Columbia and beat them 18–8 and 18–6, respectively earlier this season. The Tigers’ triumphant march stopped short only when visiting No. 16 Cornell took them down 13–12 on their own turf in overtime. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, are still struggling to get their first conference win. They have thus far lost to Dartmouth, Penn and Harvard 9–8, 12–6 and 7–5, respectively. They currently share the seventh spot with Columbia.

    In their last meeting, the Tigers outscored the Elis 9–3 despite Yale’s home advantage. The only two Bulldogs who scored against Princeton, Rhodes (who scored one goal) and attacker Jen Devito ’14 (who contributed two more), are returning for the rematch. In last year’s match, Yale was stronger in draw controls (8–6) and had more saves (18–5) with goalkeeper Whitney Quackenbush ’12 holding down the fort. But Princeton had 13 fewer turnovers, 20 more shots, four more clears and three fewer fouls.

    Considering these stats alone, it is not surprising that the Tigers emerged victorious.

    “We need to make better decisions with our offensive opportunities, and defensively we need to limit our fouls,” head coach Anne Phillips said. “Princeton is a veteran team.”

    This season, however, the Bulldogs have been improving in turnovers, shots and clears. If the team repeats its confident movements shown against the Red Foxes, it will have higher ball possession and end up controlling the play.

    Phillips said her team has defensive matchups on the Tigers to limit their offensive opportunities.

    Key Princeton players include Cassie Pyle, who scored an unassisted goal in last year’s match. As last season’s first-team All-Region and second-team All-Ivy, she already has scored 23 goals this season and is currently the top scorer on the team. Another potential threat is Jaci Gassaway, who scored two goals against the Elis last year. Recording 21 goals so far this season, she was named the Ivy League Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and also earned first-team All-Region. Defenders Adrienne Tarver ’14 and Katherine Sherrill ’14’s ability in marking these two players will be a decisive factor in determining the flow of tomorrow’s game.

    Captain Caroline Crow ’12 leads Yale in goals with 16, closely followed by Rhodes’ 13 goals. Goalkeeper Erin McMullan ’14 has recorded 43 saves this season. With only three more conference matches remaining after tomorrow’s match, a victory over Princeton is crucial in elevating Yale’s Ivy League standing.

    “If we can beat Princeton, we give ourselves a chance to qualify for the Ivy League tournament,” Phillips said.

    The Elis will take on Princeton tomorrow in New Jersey at 1 p.m.

  8. W. LACROSSE | Bulldogs raided by Colgate

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    The Elis took to the road again on Saturday only three days after returning from a big win against Marist but fell to Colgate in Hamilton.

    The Bulldogs came four goals shy of a victory against Colgate. The team fought fiercely but failed to fend off the ferocious attacks of the Raiders (3–3, 2–1 Patriot) and ultimately succumbed in a 16–12 loss. Although seven Yale players recorded goals during the match, and five scored two apiece, the effort was not enough to overwhelm Colgate.

    “Today was a tough game,” attacker Meghan Murray ’14 said. “Colgate’s attack was on top of its game yesterday and able to capitalize on our defense.”

    Last season, despite Yale’s losing 3–12 record, the Elis still managed a 10–7 victory against the Raiders.

    Yale (3–6, 0–3 Ivy) looked fit at the beginning of the game, with midfielder Christina Doherty ’15 winning the faceoff and attacker Devon Rhodes ’13 scoring a goal with a fantastic assist by fellow attacker Jen DeVito ’14 just 45 seconds in. Midfielder Ashley McCormick ’14 also dominated the draw and controlled the first 27 minutes of the match until a Raider scooped up a ground ball at 27:23, and Colgate held on to it for about a minute. After regaining control, Yale’s captain Caroline Crow ’12 and Rhodes took aggressive shots toward Colgate’s net, only to be stopped short by goalkeeper Jennie Berglin.

    “When you are down early in the game, it’s easy for a team to just accept defeat and hang their heads but we never gave up,” attacker Devon Rhodes ’13 said.

    Soon afterwards, the Raiders took advantage of a foul and dominated the next three minutes with four shots, one of which soared into Yale’s net. At 20:28, DeVito found an opportunity, but her ambitious shot bounced off the home team’s goalpost. The Raiders capitalized on the four more Yale fouls in the following three minutes by adding another goal to the tally.

    Although DeVito succeeded in leveling the score at 2–2, Colgate replied by scoring two goals. Crow narrowed the gap again to 4–3 22 minutes into the game, but the Raiders again doubled the goal difference in the next two minutes. Despite Rhode’s second goal and Crow’s closer before the whistle, the first half ended with a score of 8–5 Colgate.

    “At the beginning of the game we struggled a little bit on defense, we were fouling a lot and gave the other team multiple free position shots,” midfielder Courteney Rutter ’14 said. “In the second half we played a lot better and adjusted to the calls that were being made against us,” she added.

    Determined to turn the tide of the game, the Bulldogs initiated the attack as soon as the second half kicked off. Midfielder Reilly Foote ’15 controlled the draw after the faceoff and raced straight into the Raider’s zone to secure the Elis’ sixth goal.

    Murray said Yale’s offense was strong throughout the game.

    “We were able to get both assisted and unassisted goals, making it harder for [Colgate] defense to play against us,” Murray said.

    But after four minutes into the second half, Colgate came back strong by taking advantage of Yale’s turnover, recording three straight goals to get ahead with a five-goal difference over the visitors. The Bulldogs returned the compliment by firing in three goals of their own into the hosts’ net within a matter of a minute, with midfielder Erin Magnuson ’15 scoring two and attacker Kerri Fleishhacker ’15 putting in the third.

    For the next 12 minutes, both teams exchanged goals. Shortly after Colgate’s captain Courtney Miller changed the score to 12–9, Foote replied with Yale’s 10th goal, and when Miller added another one for her team, Bulldogs’ attacker Megan Murray ’14 again responded to turn the score board to 13–11 with eight minutes remaining in the regulation.

    The Elis failed to utilize the remaining precious minutes, even allowing a hat trick by Colgate’s key player Katie Sullivan.

    “Colgate had a number of experienced players who played well yesterday,” head coach Anne Phillips said. “Obviously we just didn’t play well against them defensively.”

    Although Fleishhacker succeeded in scoring a goal with Crow’s assist 30 seconds before the whistle, Yale fell 16–12 to the host team.

    Phillips said the team scored easily when Colgate was in an unsettled defensive situation but was impatient in running its set offense, which did not generate the scoring opportunities it was designed to create.

    In the last couple of matches, the Elis showed strengths in draw controls and shots, as demonstrated in Saturday’s match. Yale equaled its opponents in saves with 10–10 and even outdid the Raiders 16–14 in draw control.

    “Colgate definitely came out with a high level of intensity, and we found ourselves in a hole for most of the game,” goalkeeper Erin McMullan ’14 said.

    Although the team has been improving in turnovers, shots and clears, it did not continue this trend Saturday. The Elis recorded 18 turnover to Colgate’s 13, 24 shots to Colgate’s 39 and 13 clears to the Raiders’ 17.

    Phillips said the team needs to play a more disciplined defense and focus on reducing turnovers this week in practice.

    Accuracy in shots, as Philips emphasized in an interview with the News last Thursday, showed some weaknesses.

    “Our shooting percentage was much better against Colgate, 12 for 24, but we were not patient enough offensively and could not create enough scoring opportunities,” she said.

    Furthermore, the amount of fouls committed proved to be a catalyst to Yale’s defeat, as the penalties led to free position shots, and four of Colgate’s goals, the entirety of the game’s scoring margin.

    Phillips added that unforced turnovers and fouls really hurt the Bulldogs’ chances.

    The Bulldogs also led 20–15 in ground balls.

    While Yale has been faring better in comparison to last season, the team failed to secure a victory against a team the Bulldogs generally beat.

    “This week in practice we plan to continue to work on our drives to goal as well as our passes, as we prepare for Princeton,” Murray said.

    McMullan added that team is going to watch some film and tweak a couple of things in preparation for its next game.

    The Bulldogs will travel again next weekend to take on the Tigers in Princeton, N.J., on Saturday.

  9. W. LACROSSE | Elis seek repeat win against Raiders

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    The Elis will travel to Hamilton, N.Y., tomorrow to face Colgate carrying the momentum of Wednesday’s 13-9 victory against Marist with them. The victory against Marist was the team’s first away win of the season and gave it an extra boost of confidence after a string of four losses.

    “Colgate is one of the better teams in the Patriot League but seems to be having an off year this year,” head coach Anne Phillips said. “But we cannot take this team lightly or overlook them in any respect.”

    The Bulldogs (3-5, 0-3 Ivy) defeated the visiting Raiders 10-7 at home last year.

    With only two victories and eight losses this season, Colgate (2-8, 2-1 Patriot) is desperate for a win.

    “We don’t want to be the team that gives it to them, although they won’t go down easily,” Phillips said.

    Phillips said the home field advantage was a huge factor in the team’s win last season. She added that she did not think Colgate played to its full potential last year.

    In their last meeting, Yale outdid the Raiders in every aspect of the game, except turnovers (18-14) and fouls (19-17). The Bulldogs showed overwhelming strength in shots (24-19), draw controls (12-7) and ground ball controls (21-17). Goalkeeper Whitney Quackenbush ’12 also recorded one more save than her Colgate counterpart Christina Roa.

    The returning key player to watch on the Raiders’ side is Amanda O’Sullivan. She led her team’s attack last year by scoring two goals and taking a quarter of Colgate’s recorded shots during the match in New Haven. She scored 22 goals in total last season and averaged a goal per game. So far this season alone, she has already scored 21 goals and is the second lead scorer on her team. Another key Raider player is their captain Courtney Miller. With 29 goals and ten assists, she is the Raiders’ top scorer this season. She has earned first team All-Patriot League honors three years running and was named second team All-Region by IWLCA. Along with O’Sullivan, she also recorded two goals and an assist against Yale last year.

    Man-to-man defense is expected in Saturday’s match.

    “If we can keep them from scoring, I like our chances,” Phillips said. “We will have lock down defenders on them.”

    Yale has improved significantly in turnovers and clears lately. The number of turnovers has been consistently decreasing, and the team has been putting a heavy emphasis on clears during every practice.

    Although the team struggled with creating shot opportunities at the beginning of the season, the Bulldogs now seem to have gotten over that hitch, recording 34 shots against Marist this week.

    Phillips said the team now needs to improve in its shooting percentage, which means scoring on more shots.

    Midfielder Sabine van der Linden ’14 and midfielder Christina Doherty ’15, Yale’s two main face-off players, have been stepping up with strong draw controls. Phillips said Colgate has been very successful on the draw this year and draw control will be a very important factor in the game.

    Captain Caroline Crow ’12, midfielder Cathryn Avallone ’15 and attacker Devon Rhodes ’13 are Yale’s top three scorers so far this season. Crow leads with 14 goals, including a fantastic hat-trick in Wednesday’s match. Attacker Jen DeVito ’14 has made a huge impact on the team by scoring five goals in a single game, against Marist. Avallone and Rhodes have so far recorded 12 and 11, respectively. Crow and midfielder Ashley McCormick ’14 will be the two top scorers among the returning starters for the Saturday game.

    Phillips said the Bulldogs, who are now midway through their scheduled matches, have shown significant improvement compared to last season.

    Whereas the team recorded only three wins overall last year with 83 goals, it has already secured that many victories this year along with 77 goals.

    One downside to the upcoming game is that the Bulldogs will have to take another two-hour road trip to New York just after their trip to Marist on Wednesday. However, Phillips said since there is no midweek game next week, the team will be totally focused on its match against Princeton on April 7.

    Tomorrow’s game starts at 1 p.m.

  10. W. LACROSSE | Bulldogs knock off Red Foxes

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    The Elis beat Marist 13–9 Wednesday afternoon to grab their first away win of the season.

    The Bulldogs controlled the game from the beginning to the end, with two players, attacker Jen DeVito ’14 and captain Caroline Crow ’12, recording a combined eight goals.

    “We felt confident going into the game against Marist, and I am glad that we were able to use that confidence to come out with a win,” midfielder Cathryn Avallone ’15 said. “The match has fired up our team again.”

    Only five minutes after the face-off, DeVito scored the match’s first goal. Two minutes later, midfielder Erin Magnuson ’15 added a goal. Crow followed with one of her own after 12 minutes of play. Magnuson then notched a second goal, and DeVito rounded out the first half with her second goal, putting the Bulldogs ahead of Marist 5–4 heading into the second half.

    Head coach Anne Phillips said Marist (1–9) was a tenacious team that never gave up.

    “Somebody needed to take command, and our offense easily got a lead,” Phillips said.

    The Elis (3–5, 0–3 Ivy League) continued their offensive onslaught in the second half. DeVito opened the second period by completing her first hat trick of the season, assisted by Avallone, and then recorded another goal shortly afterwards. Although the Red Foxes fought back, their comeback attempt did not slow down the Bulldogs as they poured six more goals into Marist’s net. After Crow’s hat trick, DeVito, midfielder Christina Doherty ’15 and Reilly Foote ’15 added a goal apiece onto the scoreboard. Courteney Rutter ‘14 sealed the game with her season’s first goal before the final whistle.

    “It was great to win on the road today, and it was a total team effort,” defender Kallie Parchman ’14 said.

    Rutter said the defense was very solid during the match.

    The defense froze Marist’s offense with 19 clears and 25 ground ball controls. Goalkeeper Erin McMullan ’14 secured the Elis’ net with an outstanding six saves. However, fouls turned out to be a weak point for the Bulldogs.

    “It is unfortunate since Marist could have scored three less goals if it were not for the free position shots caused by our penalties,” said Phillips.

    The Bulldogs also overwhelmed Marist in shots, 34–18.

    Phillips said she is happy that the team improved in shots today, which was the team’s major concern going into the game.

    The Elis also reduced their number of turnovers, only allowing eight in comparison to the 20 committed by the host team.

    DeVito initiated most of the offensive maneuvers and shots.

    “Jen DeVito played so well today. She came through for the attack when we needed to score,” Rutter said.

    Phillips said despite the disadvantage of traveling on the road in the middle of a week, the victory helps prepare the team to execute game plans for the upcoming away matches.

    After yesterday’s match, the Bulldogs are now more than halfway into the season, collecting 77 goals so far.

    “We’re going to use this momentum to get another win at Colgate this Saturday,” Parchman said.

    The Elis will travel to New York this Saturday to take on the Raiders in hope of adding another away win.

  11. W. LACROSSE | Elis drop game to Crimson by two goals

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    Hoping to avenge last season’s loss, the Bulldogs gave up a close 7–5 match against archrival Harvard on Saturday.

    Although the defeat reflected the gloomy weather on the team’s Alumnae Day, Yale (2–5, 0–3 Ivy) nevertheless demonstrated that it is bouncing back from a slew of recent defeats against Notre Dame, Penn and Boston University. Whereas last year the team lost to Harvard (3–4, 1–2 Ivy) by 16 goals, the Elis walked away with only two goals short this season.

    “Though we came out on the short end of 7–5, I am proud of how hard we played and how we almost closed the two-goal deficit late in the second half,” head coach Anne Phillips said.

    She added that if the team had capitalized on its late-game opportunities, it could have come back to win.

    An extended men’s lacrosse match forced the game to start 45 minutes later than scheduled, but Reese Stadium was already packed with about 500 spectators eagerly waiting to witness the much-anticipated clash of the two rivals. The Yale supporters began chanting “Bulldog!” nearly 10 minutes before the start of the game.

    Yale’s attacker Sabine van der Linden ’14 and Harvard’s Kasey Uhlenhuth, both among their team’s tallest players, faced off at the start of the game. Amid 10 players fiercely struggling for ball possession in the Crimson’s zone, Harvard’s Melanie Baskind scooped up the ball and gave the Crimson the first possession. The Crimson made its first offensive drive in the third minute, with a rifle from Jamie Potter’s that went straight toward the net. But the Bulldogs’ goalkeeper Erin McMullan ’14 deflected the shot.

    About a minute later, the Crimson’s Micaela Cyr set the flow of the match by slamming the game’s first goal straight past McMullan and into the Elis’ net. For much of the first half, Harvard continued its onslaught. Just three minutes after the first goal, Jenn VanderMeulen, who was first-team All-Ivy last year, followed with another. Within the next two minutes, the Crimson had added two more goals.

    The Bulldogs’ agonizing first period did not end there. When the team switched to a zone defense towards the end of the first half, the Crimson collected three more goals, with VanderMeulen assisting the last goal before the whistle, and the Elis returned to a man-to-man defense. Although shots (13–13) and saves (5–5) were shared evenly between the two rivals, Harvard demonstrated strength in ground balls (9–6) and draw controls (5–3), and Yale went into the second half scoreless.

    “Our first half penalties put a lot of pressure on our defense and allowed Harvard to take the lead early in the game,” Phillips said.

    She added that poor shooting and three yellow cards hurt the team in the first half.

    Coming off a humiliating 7–0 first half, the Elis transformed into a completely different team.

    “After halftime, we knew that we had to make a change and that we could play better,” defender Kallie Parchman ’14 said. “We played with more intensity in the second half and executed our game plan.”

    From the beginning, the Bulldogs were set on taking control of the game, with van der Linden winning the draw this time. Within a minute into the first half, attacker Jen DeVito ’14 made a quick assist right behind the goal post, and attacker Devon Rhodes ’13 connected the pass into the Crimson’s net.

    Two minutes later, midfielder Ashley McCormick ’14 took advantage of the eight-meter free position shot to secure the Bulldogs’ second goal. At 14:44, after receiving a blow in the face, midfielder Cathryn Avallone ’15 capitalized on the freed position to secure her 12th goal of the season.

    “I am really proud of the way our team stepped it up in the second half,” McMullan said.

    The Bulldogs kept the momentum going, narrowing the score gap to three as Rhodes penetrated past four Crimson defenders to fire in the team’s fourth goal. Harvard’s attempt to slow down the Bulldogs’ pace by calling for a timeout proved futile as the captain and attacker Caroline Crow ’12 scooped up the ground ball, rallied to the post and scored the Elis’ last goal of the match.

    Despite Yale’s relentless attacks, Harvard’s Nina Kucharczyk took a shot that McMullan blocked with only about two minutes remaining.

    “We were trying to create turnovers, hoping to get the ball back and score quickly before the game ended,” McMullan said. “Our attack did a great job of riding at the end of the game, creating some turnovers on Harvard’s defensive end.”

    Yale dominated the second period by recording more saves (6–2), shots (12–8) and ground balls (8–7) than the visiting Crimson, but the Bulldogs’ dramatic efforts to turn the game around fell short.

    McMullan said defender duo Adrienne Tarver ’14 and Katherine Sherrill ’14 had to guard Harvard’s best players, and both held their respective marks to one goal each. The defense did not let up a single goal for the entire half and only allowed eight shots.

    Phillips said the team is moving in the right direction and this will be an important week in the team’s overall development.

    “Our offense finally got on track,” she said. “We have played from behind in each of our games this season, so limiting our fouls and shooting well will be our focus this week at practice.”

    The Elis will travel to New York on Wednesday to take on Marist at 4 p.m.