PRINCETON, N.J. – The nationally ranked University of Pennsylvania women's lacrosse team dropped a close 11-10 Ivy League semifinal to second-seeded Yale at Princeton University on Friday night.
 
The Bulldogs scored two goals in the final minute of regulation to complete the comeback of #3 Penn to secure their spot in their fourth-straight Ivy League Tournament final.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Patricia Columbia-Walsh and Keeley Block co-led the offense in the contest, tallying three points each.
 
*Anna Brandt had a strong stat line, tallying two goals, two caused turnovers, and three draw controls.
 
*Goalkeeper Orly Sedransk worked hard in her cage, stopping 11 of 22 shots faced.
 
*Yale had a slight advantage in the circle, winning 13 draw controls compared to Penn's nine.
 
How It Happened
Senior Brandt struck first in the semifinal battle, getting on the board less than a minute and a half in to give Penn an early lead. The Bulldogs answered two minutes later to even the game at one with 12:17 left of the opening period. Five minutes later, Yale took its first lead of the game at 2-1.
 
The Quakers bounced back after the lead change, as Gracie Smith and junior Columbia-Walsh netted back-to-back free position goals to push Penn ahead 3-2 with 3:11 left of the first. Senior Block closed out the first, connecting on the Red and Blue's third-straight free position goal to extend the lead to a pair.
 
Both keepers stood on their heads to open the second as Sedransk and Niamh Pfaff made five combined saves, stretching the first 11 minutes of the period. The Bulldogs broke the scoring drought with 2:09 left of the first half to cut the lead to 4-3. The final minute of the second was intense as Yale tied the contest at four with 55 seconds remaining. With a second on the clock, midfielder Brandt pushed Penn ahead 5-4 with her second of the night to end the half.
 
The goalkeepers continued to work hard in their cages coming out of the break, keeping both offenses off the field for the first five minutes of the period. A green card on the Bulldogs allowed senior Smith to tally her second of the outing to put the game at 6-4. Yale made up for the blunder a few minutes later, sneaking one past Sedransk to get within one with 9:25 left of the third.
 
Defender Natasha Gorriaran made a huge play two minutes later, dishing the ball up to senior Block to lengthen the Quakers' lead to 7-5. Quickly after, Block netted her third of the battle with 5:27 left of the third to bump the lead to a trio of goals. Yale slashed Block's run not even a minute later to cut the hole to two tallies heading into the final period of regulation.
 
Yale opened the fourth with a point to prove, cutting Penn's lead to 8-7 with 12:56 on the clock. A few minutes later, Catherine Berkery and Yale's Sky Carrasquillo exchanged goals to push the game to 9-8 with 9:32 left of the fourth. Right off the next draw, the Bulldogs notched the battle up at nine to keep the semifinal tight.
 
With both teams feeling the pressure, a foul on the Bulldogs allowed Columbia-Walsh to net her second free position goal of the night to put the Red and Blue ahead by a goal with 6:32 remaining. One of freshman Sedransk's most crucial saves of the game two minutes later, keeping First Team All-Ivy honoree Fallon Vaughn off the board to keep the deficit at a tally.
 
The final of the game was tense and all Yale, as the Bulldogs netted back-to-back goals to take the semifinal contest 11-10 to secure their spot in Sunday's championship.
 
Up Next
The Quakers (10-6, 5-2 Ivy League) wait to see if they earn an at-large bid to the 2025 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Tournament. The Selection Show is slated for 9 p.m. on Sunday, May 4, on ESPN.