April 16, 2008
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Yale senior class could not have asked for much more in its final regular-season home game. With all six members of the Class of 2008 contributing, the No. 14 Bulldogs posted a convincing 12-4 win over Brown. Senior midfielder Lauren Taylor led all scorers with three goals, and senior goalkeeper Ellen Cameron's seven saves backed a strong defensive effort that at one point included holding the Bears scoreless for more than 33 minutes.
The Bears opened with a 2-0 lead, but after that the Bulldogs -- ranked No. 6 in the country in scoring defense -- clamped down. They held Brown scoreless for the next 33:14, and the Bears would score only two more goals after that. That tied Brown's lowest goal output of the season (a 16-4 loss to BU Mar. 5) and marked the third time this season the Bulldogs held an opponent to four or fewer goals.
Turnovers plagued the Bears, who actually held a 12-6 edge in draw controls. Brown turned the ball over 20 times, compared to Yale's season-low nine. In addition to her three goals, Taylor also had a game-high three caused turnovers. Senior defender Katie Wiacek and junior midfielder Jenn Warden had two each.
"Our seniors continue to do what they do best -- take care of the ball at both ends of the field," said Laura Field, Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse. "We have come to expect them to have an impact on every play, and they carried the game today."
After Alexa Caldwell and Kara Kelly gave Brown (5-7, 2-3 Ivy League) a 2-0 lead five minutes in, Taylor began the comeback with an unassisted goal. After Warden bounced one in to tie the game at two, sophomore attacker Jessica Sturgill's perfectly-place pass from behind the cage gave senior attacker Meredith Callahan an open net to shoot at, and Callahan delivered the goal that put Yale up for good.
Sturgill completed a run of four goals in 10 minutes for the Bulldogs by tallying off a Taylor assist at 14:22. After that goal both defenses dug in, and the lone score the rest of the half came when Warden fed Taylor for a precisely placed shot into the upper corner of the cage at 6:08.
Goals by senior midfielder Kat Peetz, junior midfielder Taylor Fragapane and Sturgill in the first eight minutes of the second half gave Yale an 8-2 edge. Brown snapped its scoreless drought on a goal by Krystina Deluca at 21:47, but the Bulldogs answered that one in dramatic fashion. Warden picked off a pass in the midfield and raced in for a goal at 17:55 that helped put the game further out of reach.
"We had a couple momentum changers," Field said. "Jenn had some great caused turnovers, and Lauren had some as well. That enabled us to keep Brown from getting in a rhythm. They beat Dartmouth by three goals, so they were not a team to be taken lightly."
Peetz added another goal at 16:08. Lauren Vitkus tacked on a goal at 14:49, the lone point on the day for her after coming in as the team's leading scorer (21-8-29 in the previous 11 games).
"Katie Wiacek and Jess Champion helped us take care of Brown's best scorers, with Jess on Lauren Vitkus," said Field. "We were able to limit her opportunities. I can't say enough about the job our defenders did, and Ellen had a great day in goal."
The Bulldogs got the last two goals of the game. Freshman midfielder/defender Kaitlyn Flatley showed composure after a pass to her right in front of the cage was broken up. She picked up the loose ball and deposited it for her third goal of the season.
Flatley was one of many players seeing more significant playing time as the Bulldogs utilized their depth on defense.
"We had some fresh faces out there -- people such as Fielding Kidd and Natalie Reid," Field said. "They fact that we were able to work more people in and still maintain such a high level of play defensively is encouraging."
Taylor finished off the scoring with a goal at 2:39, a fitting way for her to go out on Senior Day. The Ivy League's leader in goals (39) and points (57) right now, she is second on Yale's career goals list (196) and career points list (244).
"A team effort like this was a great way to pay tribute to the seniors," Field said.
Yale (11-4, 4-2 Ivy League) plays its regular season finale at No. 18 Cornell Saturday looking to continue making a case for a berth in the NCAA tournament.
report by Sam Rubin '95 (sam.rubin@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity