After wins against the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, Columbia and Stetson, No. 16 Yale snapped the No. 23 Bears’ three-game win streak with a 10-5 loss. Saturday’s contest in New Haven was the Bears’ second game against a nationally-ranked opponent and their third in-conference game. Scoring four unanswered goals to start the game, Yale buried Brown into a hole that the Bears were never able to climb out of.
“Yale’s zone was aggressive and high pressure, making it hard to find openings,” Greta Criqui ’25 wrote in a message to The Herald. “(They) were very effective on defense, packing their zone, and making shots difficult to come by,” she added.
After two quick goals from Yale’s Ashley Kiernan and Sky Carrasquillo, the Bears found themselves down 2-0 after one quarter. Just a minute into the second quarter, Kiernan struck again for the Bulldogs, flawlessly slinging the ball into the Bears’ goal and extending the Yale lead to three. Yale continued to mount their lead, as Carrasquillo scored her second goal of the day, putting the Bears in a tough spot.
Finally, at the 8:02 mark of the second quarter, Brown’s Mia Mascone ’24 offered a response to the Bulldogs’ run with a goal that shifted the momentum in Bruno’s favor. The remainder of the second quarter was a defensive clash, with both teams exhausting themselves to prevent a goal. With just a minute in the quarter left, Criqui inched the Bears closer to a comeback, scoring a goal that brought them to a two-point deficit.
“I made a high-to-low cut, caught a great pass from (Mascone), and then had to spin to shoot,” Criqui wrote. “The goalie didn’t have a chance to read my stick on the turnaround shot.”
After Criqui’s promising goal, Brown headed to halftime in a good position to make a comeback. To the Bears’ misfortune, Yale came out of halftime hot.
Bulldog midfielder Fallon Vaughn scored an unassisted goal just 90 seconds into the third quarter. Her teammate, attacker Chloe Conaghan, added to the Yale run minutes later with a goal that extended their lead to 6-2.
Later in the third quarter, Brown halted the Yale run, with a goal by Julia Ford ’24 bringing the game to a three-point match. “It was a free position (shot) that was drawn by the other attackers occupying their defenders to draw a three-second call,” Ford wrote. “The goalie was standing high on the crease, so I faked and finished.”
Despite many promising opportunities, the Bears never managed to find a consistent offensive rhythm to spark a comeback. “The biggest challenge was creating more offensive momentum to get quality possessions that lead to good looks,” Ford wrote. “We just needed to capitalize on the opportunities that they gave us.”
To end the third quarter, Yale’s Fallon Vaughn scored her second goal of the day to increase the Bulldog lead to 7-3 — a lead that rapidly grew. Just 30 seconds into the fourth quarter, Yale’s Taylor Lane fired the ball behind the Brown defensive unit to make the lead 8-3. And just three minutes later, Vaughn scored her third goal of the day, which sent the New Haven crowd into a thrill as the Bulldogs held a dominant 9-3 lead with just minutes to go.
In spite of the deficit, Bruno remained strong and fought back. Freshman midfielder Beth Anderson ’27 spearheaded a late effort, scoring her fourth goal of the season to bring the Bears to 9-4. And just minutes later, with 4:14 left, Ford netted her second goal of the game to pull the Bears to 9-5. “Mia (Mascone) drew two defenders to her and then passed me the ball up top, so the zone opened up for me to drive through,” Ford wrote.
While Brown remained aggressive in hopes of a fourth-quarter comeback, the time left proved insufficient as the clock ran out. With 0:46 left in the game, Yale’s Jenna Collignon scored the final blow to finalize the Bulldog lead at 10-5.
“Yale was able to convert on a few more plays than us,” Criqui wrote. “(Our) defensive unit played really well. I wish the offense could have scored a few more,” she added.
Despite Saturday’s struggles, according to Criqui, the Bears “are ready and looking forward to” their next challenge: Ivy League rival Dartmouth (6-4, Ivy 0-3). Brown will host the Big Green at 2 p.m. this Saturday at Stevenson-Pincince Field. The game will be televised on New England Sports Network.
Cooper Herman is a senior staff writer covering sports and arts & culture. He is a freshman from Alexandria, Virginia studying Economics and International and Public Affairs.
