Vanderbilt Succumbs to Tough Yale Offense 15-9 3/14/03

The women of the Vanderbilt Lacrosse team (1-1) buckled under strong pressure this weekend as they traveled to New Haven, Connecticut to take on the Bulldogs of Yale University. Entering the contest off of a substantial win against Hofstra University, the Commodores aimed to dominate the Bulldogs offensively. The plan worked … for the first 15 minutes of play.

Offensively, Vanderbilt could not be touched. Scoring six goals in the first
ten minutes of action and winning practically every draw control after each
goal would propel the Commodores to a five-goal lead over the Bulldogs early in
the first period.

But Yale was not to be overshadowed. After a quick timeout, the Bulldogs
rallied together as a team. Their mission was clear; shakeup Vanderbilt’s
offense and win the ball. And shake they did. On a bitter cold day in
Connecticut, Yale went from scoring just one goal in 15 minutes, to scoring six
in just over five. Yale midfielder, Katie Sargent had a very impressive day.
She scored five goals for Yale, four of them unassisted. Yale would dominate
the rest of the contest, scoring eleven goals in the first half and four more
in the second.

Vanderbilt struggled to maintain possession of the ball throughout the game.
This was clearly noticeable in the second period in which the Commodores scored just one goal. But despite multiple errors, Vanderbilt’s offensive statistics were strong in numbers. Senior Jeanie Crawley had eight shots and two goals while Junior Michelle Allen rocketed seven shots and added three goals for VU.

It is clear that this year’s squad is skilled individually. But uniting as a
team in these next weeks will be a crucial part of the accomplishing the goals
that these women have set for themselves. In any sport, recovery after a tough loss like this difficult, but the Commodores will have to do it quickly as they take on the University of New Hampshire on March 16.

Nevertheless, this team has played witness to difficult times before, and they
are confident in their ability to work through them with grace and dignity.
Mostly, these ladies aim to gain knowledge from their difficult loss today.
They are certain that they will emerge on the other side hungrier for the win
and with a better understanding and appreciation for the game. Vanderbilt aims
to learn these lessons early in the season in order grow stronger as a unit.

Vanderbilt’s next home game is March 25 against ALC rival, Northwestern, in the
Vanderbilt Lacrosse Complex.