Feb. 27, 2008
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - No. 13 Yale might not have been expecting to go down to the wire with Fairfield in the season opener Wednesday afternoon at Johnson Field. But when the Bulldogs found themselves tied with the Stags and in danger of losing to them for the first time, they turned to a reliable source for a big goal. Tewaaraton Trophy candidate Lauren Taylor delivered the game-winner with 90 seconds left to help Yale avoid the upset, 9-8.
The Stags had never finished closer than within five goals of the Bulldogs in any of the nine previous meetings between these two teams, and last year's game was a 14-7 Yale win. But it was clear from the start on Wednesday that this was a different Fairfield team under first-year head coach Beth Loffredo and assistant Mike Waldvogel.
"Fairfield was very disciplined," said Laura Field, Yale's Joel E. Smilow '54 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse, who was also making her head coaching debut. "They were purposeful with everything they did, and they played a smart game."
Taylor, who led the country in goals per game last season, opened the scoring a minute in by cutting in front to receive a nice feed from behind the cage by senior attacker Meredith Callahan. That extended Taylor's point-scoring streak to 26 games. But Fairfield responded quickly. Kristen Coleman scored twice in a span of just over a minute, and after senior midfielder Kat Peetz tied the game off another Callahan assist both teams struggled to score amidst a host of turnovers and yellow cards.
Senior goalkeeper Ellen Cameron's save on a free position attempt by Katie von Hoffman with five minutes left in the half gave Yale momentary momentum, but another goal by Coleman a minute later gave the Stags the lead. After sophomore attacker Jessica Sturgill tied the game with a nice move from behind the cage, Rebecca White gave Fairfield the lead heading into halftime by scoring with 52 seconds left on the clock.
The Bulldogs struggled with draw controls throughout the game, losing 12 of 19, but they put together a string right at the start of the second half that provided a much-needed offensive outburst. Junior midfielder Jenn Warden took the opening draw and drove for the game-tying goal 40 seconds in, extending her point-scoring streak to 23 games.
After Peetz won the next draw control Taylor drew the attention of the defense with a drive into the 8-meter arc before passing to a wide-open Callahan in front for a 5-4 lead. Fairfield got the next draw control but Warden caused a turnover -- one of five caused turnovers on the day for her -- and Callahan fed Sturgill to make it 6-4.
"Draw controls were 90 percent of the issue," Field said. "When we got the ball, we were able to play well on the attack."
A goal by sophomore midfielder Jenna Block extended the lead to 7-4 with 24 minutes left, but the Stags staged another rally. Kelly Barnes' free-position goal and a goal by White brought Fairfield within one.
Peetz got Yale momentary breathing room by converting a free-position shot with 18 minutes left. Cameron got a piece of Erin Rigby's shot with 15 minutes left but the ball still went in, and the Stags tied it on a goal by Abbey Goodwin after a scramble in front of the net with 13 minutes to play.
Fairfield goalkeeper Lauren Chatnik made a pair of saves on low, hard shots by Warden and Taylor with five minutes to play, but Cameron made an equally impressive stop on White a minute later. Peetz picked up the ground ball after that and the Bulldogs decided to settle things down.
Taylor's first attempt at the game winner was a side-arm shot that sailed just high with two minutes to play. The Bulldogs maintained possession and got the ball back to her, enabling her to back her defender down and go low for the game-winner with 90 seconds on the clock. Fragapane grabbed the ensuing draw control to seal the win.
Cameron finished with four saves. All told, six different Bulldogs had goals.
"We wanted to spread the wealth," Field said. "We had some new faces involved in the attack, and Meredith Callahan had three assists. It was good to get [freshman] Kaitlyn Flatley in when we had some yellow card issues. I thought Jenn Warden played well, and Lauren Taylor was clutch as we expect her to be."
The Bulldogs host No. 12 JMU Saturday at Noon.
report by Sam Rubin '95 (sam.rubin@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity