April 2, 2008
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - After letting an early 3-0 lead slip away by giving up three straight goals to Holy Cross Wednesday afternoon at Johnson Field, No. 13 Yale responded in dramatic fashion. The Bulldogs reeled off the next 14 goals, taking full command of the game en route to a 19-9 win. Senior midfielder Lauren Taylor finished with six goals and three assists, tying her career high for points in a game with nine. Junior midfielder Taylor Fragapane scored a career-high five goals, and senior attacker Meredith Callahan had four assists.
"One of the things we were looking to do was improve our shooting percentage," said Laure Field, Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse. "Lauren (six goals on eight shots) and Taylor (five goals on five shots) both did that."
Fragapane now has 10 goals for the season, one shy of her career high.
"Taylor has shown the ability to finish," said Field. "We look to her more for her defensive abilities and are not necessarily counting on her for goals. But she can take pressure off our attackers and our attacking midfielders."
The Bulldog defense was led by senior defender Jess Champion, who limited Holy Cross' Kristine Corkum -- who had 17 goals entering the game -- to just four shots and one goal.
"Jess Champion did a great job defensively on Kristine Corkum," said Laura Field, Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse. "Taking care of her was our first order of business, because she is one of their best players."
Taylor's big day moved her into second place on Yale's all-time goals list, surpassing Miles Whitman '03 (178). She finished at 183 and now trails only Tracy Ball '81 (209). In addition to her three assists, Taylor added four ground balls and four caused turnovers.
"Lauren has worked hard to diversify her game," said Field. "She has not scored as many goals as she had in past seasons, but she is helping us in so many other ways -- feeding the ball, playing great defense and causing turnovers. She and Meredith Callahan really worked well in tandem today."
Taylor started her scoring spree on a free-position shot two minutes in, stopping quickly and rifling the ball past Holy Cross goalie Amy Martin. Sophomore attacker Jessica Sturgill then added to the lead by coming around from behind the goal, backing down her defender, and spinning to deposit her 10th goal of the year 40 seconds later.
Ten minutes in, a perfect feed from Callahan to junior attacker Linden Ellis gave Yale a 3-0 lead. The Crusaders mounted a rally after that, getting three goals in five minutes to knot the game at three.
Just as quickly, the Bulldogs regained the lead. Taylor scored two in a row, including one on a feed from Callahan. Junior midfielder Jenn Warden then delivered a left-handed goal, shooting across her body and into the lower right corner of the net, and Fragapane capped the run by converting a pass from Taylor at 10:23 to make it 7-3.
After Martin made a save on junior midfielder Kat Peetz from right in front with five minutes left in the half, Peetz stayed with the play and got the ball to Warden, who scored. That was the start of a run of four goals in the final five minutes of the half -- three of them assisted. Taylor bounced in a feed from Callahan, then Fragapane took a pass from Taylor and bounced one off the crossbar and in. Peetz capped the run by grabbing the ball after a save and getting it to Taylor for a goal with only five seconds left in the half to make it 11-3 Yale. Yale has now outscored its last three opponents 28-6 in the first half.
Yale (8-3, 2-1 Ivy League) scored the first six goals of the second half while starting to work in more and more reserves. Fragapane had two more, while Ellis, Peetz, Taylor and freshman midfielder Ariana Papier added one each. Callahan, Papier and Taylor had assists during the run. Callahan now has as many goals (11) and assists (15) this year as she had in her first three seasons combined.
Senior goalkeeper Ellen Cameron left in favor of freshman Katie Janian with 18:30 to play, finishing the day with one save. Janian made three saves as Holy Cross (3-8, 1-3 Patriot League) outscored Yale 6-2 the rest of the way. Sophomore midfielder Lindsey DeMarco assisted on a goal by Fragapane, then scored one herself.
"Even though they gave up some goals, it was good to see our subs play hard," Field said. "Katie Janian made some point-blank saves. She took some risks that cost her some goals, but we like that aggressive play. Lindsey DeMarco has taken advantage of the opportunities she has had (three goals in four games). Natalie Reid played really well, going in defensively in the first half and making sure there were no lapses. We had good efforts from people who saw more extensive minutes than they ever had before, like Augusta Hixon."
Among the subs entering the game for Yale was freshman midfielder Mahi Trivellas, who was making her varsity debut. Trivellas had just recently been cleared to play after being seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver last October. On Wednesday she joined her twin sister, Myra, on the field for the Bulldogs.
"Last October I would not have believed that we would see Mahi playing this year. I would have been happy just to see her walking," said Field. "For her to be able to take the field, and play in the midfield, shows that she is back to her usual athletic form. To see her out there after what she has been through, I could not be happier."
Yale visits No. 2 Princeton on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
report by Sam Rubin '95 (sam.rubin@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity