April 13, 2008
BALTIMORE, Md. - An upset-minded UMBC team gave Yale all it could handle Sunday afternoon at UMBC Stadium, fighting back from an early 4-1 deficit and eventually tying the game at nine late in the second half. But the Bulldogs were not to be denied on this day. Senior midfielder Lauren Taylor broke the tie with her third goal with 10:10 left, and junior midfielder Taylor Fragapane put the game away with a pair of tallies in the final eight minutes for the 12-9 final.
With seven players from Maryland, and many alums in the Baltimore area, the Bulldogs had a sizable contingent of supporters in the stands despite being 270 miles from home as they played UMBC for the first time. The first half was a tale of two runs. The Bulldogs scored the first goal when Retriever goalie Kate Quick got caught overplaying a pass and was out of the cage as sophomore attacker Jessica Sturgill curled around and deposited her 12th goal of the year. UMBC tied it at one on a free-position goal by Ali Levendusky a minute later, but the Bulldogs scored the next three goals starting with one by Taylor. After a ground ball pickup by Fragapane in the Yale end, Taylor's unassisted goal at 26:09 gave the Bulldogs the lead again.
Free position goals by junior midfielder Jenn Warden and senior midfielder Kat Peetz extended the lead to 4-1, but after that the Bulldogs endured a lengthy dry spell at the offensive end. The Retrievers chipped away at the lead on goals by Sarah Willis and Kelly Burgoyne to draw within one.
UMBC (4-11) had a pair of chances to tie the game late in the half. Senior goalie Ellen Cameron got her stick down to deny a free-position shot by Amanda Pappas with four minutes to play. The Retrievers maintained possession, but Cameron was able to get down to deny a tricky shot from Erika Braerman right in front.
Quick came up with a point-blank save on a shot by sophomore attacker Jenna Block with two minutes left, and down at the other end of the field Levendusky curled around the cage, leaped and fired the ball past Cameron to tie the game at four with a minute left, completing a thee-goal run by the Retrievers.
Yale (10-4) was able to get the draw control -- one of only three draws the Bulldogs got in the first half -- and set up on offense as the final seconds ticked off. On an out-of-bounds pass from Warden, Taylor got the ball high on the left side and drove to goal. As a double-team converged on her, she switched to a lefty shot and rifled the ball in with only six seconds on the clock. The goal snapped a scoreless drought of more than 17 minutes for the Bulldogs and gave them a 5-4 lead at halftime.
UMBC answered immediately in the second half, as Levendusky's goal 90 seconds in -- her 50th of the year -- tied the game up. Peetz responded by scoring twice in a span of 70 seconds. On the first one she cut through the 8-meter fan with the ball, using her speed to get just enough separation to wing a shot past Quick. Peetz' next goal came on a free-position attempt.
The Retrievers got a goal from Burgoyne to cut their deficit to one with 24:25 to play, but they missed a chance to tie it when Levendusky sent a free-position shot wide. The Bulldogs took advantage of that to extend the lead as senior attacker Meredith Callahan set up freshman midfielder/defender Kaitlyn Flatley for a goal.
Cameron got her stick down to deny a free-position attempt by Carrie Paris with 17 minutes left -- the Retrievers would end the day just 3-for-8 in that category. But they kept the ball after the save and Levendusky was able to score on a free position to make it 8-7 Yale with 16:57 to play.
UMBC caught Yale in transition after winning the next draw control, and Meghan Keelan took advantage of a 2-on-1 to feed Abbey Swift for the game-tying goal. Cameron kept the Retrievers from grabbing their first lead of the game by stopping Levendusky's attempt to come around from behind the cage and stuff one in with 13 minutes to play. Senior defender Jess Champion grabbed the ground ball after that to enable Yale to go back on the offensive.
After Warden drew a foul and converted the free-position attempt by bouncing one past Quick, the Bulldogs held a 9-8 lead. But Burgoyne's free-position goal with 10:46 to play knotted the game, the fourth time the Retrievers had rallied to tie.
Taylor's game-winner, her Ivy League-leading 36th goal and 53rd point of the year, came while she was being fouled with 10:10 remaining. Two minutes later the Bulldogs got some breathing room. From behind the net, Callahan spotted Fragapane in a crowd and placed the pass right in her crosse for her to flick it past Quick. It was Fragapane's 12th goal of the season, establishing a new career high for her.
After Levendusky sent a free-position shot wide with six minutes remaining, the Retrievers kept possession and called timeout. That strategy was negated by a turnover almost immediately, and Champion came away with the ground ball -- one of four on the day for her, to go along with a pair of draw controls.
Yale then began running down the clock, and after the teams traded turnovers with four minutes to play the Bulldogs controlled the ball in the UMBC zone with victory in sight. Fragapane had a free position attempt with three minutes to play but opted to pass and keep the clock ticking. Taylor tried a shot with 90 seconds left that Quick saved, but Warden grabbed the loose ball to keep Yale in control. Fragapane's free-position goal with 14 seconds left ended any chance of a UMBC comeback. Cameron made her seventh and final save on a shot by Meghan Keelan with six seconds left.
This marks the 14th time in the last 15 years Yale has reached double digits in wins. Still in contention for a berth in the NCAA tournament, the Bulldogs host Brown Wednesday at 5:00 p.m.
report by Sam Rubin '95 (sam.rubin@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity