An NCAA quarterfinal drought will end in New Haven, where Yale and Johns Hopkins prevailed in first-round games Friday to set up Sunday’s second-round showdown.
Sixth-seeded Yale dominated every facet of its NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse tournament first-round game against Binghamton, defeating the Bearcats 17-4.
The host Bulldogs (16-2, 7-0 Ivy League) will take on Johns Hopkins, an 11-5 winner over Fairfield, on Sunday with a chance to advance to the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time since 2003.
It was close early, with Yale drawing three first-quarter penalties. But the Bulldogs settled in, scoring the first five goals of the second quarter and then scoring six goals in fewer than six minutes to break the game open in the third.
USA Lacrosse honorable mention All-American Jenna Collignon scored four goals and added 12 draw controls in the win. Ashley Kiernan had three goals and three assists.
As a team, Yale won 16 of 22 draws, outshot Binghamton 38-15 and committed eight fewer turnovers (17-9). Do-everything midfielder Fallon Vaughn (pictured above), a third-team All-American selection by USA Lacrosse, contributed three goals (two on free position), five ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Fresh off their first Ivy League tournament championship and an undefeated run through the conference, the Bulldogs are playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007. This was the Bearcats’ first-ever appearance in the dance.
With mascot Handsome Dan roaming the sideline, Yale left nothing the chance. It will face Hopkins, which has not made the quarterfinal since 2007. The Blue Jays were 3-11 all-time in NCAA tournament games entering Friday and drew a tough first-round opponent in Fairfield —an at-large selection that had won 16 straight games before falling to Niagara in the MAAC championship game.
The Stags kept things close but like Binghamton were outshot (30-19) and outdrawn (14-5). Hopkins scored four unanswered goals in second quarter to take a 7-2 lead and put the game out of reach with a pair of goals 39 seconds apart in the fourth.
Ashley Mackin scored the first two goals and finished with a game-high four for the Blue Jays, who got a hat trick from Ava Angello and three assists apiece from Campbell Case and Maeve Barker. Eight of Hopkins’ 11 goals were assisted.
Hopkins and Yale play Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPN+.
