NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The second-seeded University of Pennsylvania women's lacrosse team fell in the second semifinal of the 2026 Ivy League Women's Lacrosse Tournament hosted at Yale University, dropping a 15-10 contest to #3 Princeton at Reese Stadium.
#3 Princeton netted six straight goals heading into the halftime break, to create a cushion too deep for #2 Penn to overcome, taking the semifinal 15-10 to advance to Championships Sunday to take on #1 Yale.
Quaker Notemeal
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Catherine Berkery led the offense with four goals.
Eden Welch scored a hat trick, and
Patricia Columbia-Walsh,
Lela Greene, and
Regan O'Brien all found the back of the net to even Penn's goal scorers.
*The Quakers shared the wealth on the defensive side of the ball as Berkery, Olivie Comerford, and
Sydney Patten all tallied two caused turnovers.
*
Maggie Bankowski controlled the X, winning a field-high eight draw controls.
*Goalkeeper
Orly Sedransk made eight saves in the matchup.
How It Happened
The Quakers opened the second semifinal battle of the tournament with authority, scoring four straight goals within the first five minutes of the first, with two coming from junior Berkery to give Penn a deep lead early. The Tigers finally got on the board with 8:52 left in the period. A goal called back on the Quakes, followed by another card, gave Princeton a few opportunities to cut the lead, but sophomore Sedransk made a huge eight-meter save to hold the lead at three with five minutes on the clock. Back-to-back goals from the Tigers, including a player-up tally from Meg Morrisroe, put the score at 4-3 after 15 minutes.
The second quarter opened with both teams going back and forth, as Merrill Watson, junior O'Brien, and Becca Kirschner all struck one after another to put the game even at five with 11:01 on the clock. The Tigers took their first lead of the semifinal a few minutes later, scoring back-to-back goals to lead 7-5 with 8:20 left of the first half.
The Quakers couldn't catch a break as two more cards were awarded to the offense, which Princeton was able to capitalize on to increase the deficit to three with the second quarter dwindling down. The Tigers held possession of the ball to close out the half, as Maggie Molnar and Morrisroe both found the back of the net to push the score to 10-5 heading into the break.
The Tigers continued their hot streak coming out of the break, recording their seventh straight goal to open the third. Sophomore Greene was able to slash the run with 10:34 on the clock, but another goal from Princeton negated the tally to put the hole at six again five minutes later. Attacker Berkery tried to put the offense on her back for the Red and Blue, netted back-to-back goals with less than two minutes left of the third, but Haven Dora added an eight-meter goal to the board to end the quarter with the score at 14-8.
The final quarter of regulation continued to swing in Princeton's favor, as goalkeeper Amelia Hughes saved an eight-meter shot from
Mary Sack early in the fourth, but junior Welch was able to get one back on the free position to shorten the lead to five goals with 10:17 remaining. The Quakers tried to chip away at Princeton's lead as junior Welch completed her hat trick five minutes later, but another saved eight-meter shot from keeper Hughes allowed the Tigers to put the nail in the coffin in the final two minutes with a goal to create a 15-10 deficit that was too late for the Quakers to overcome.
Up Next
The Quakers (8-8, 5-2 Ivy League) wait to see if they will receive an at-large bid for the 2026 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship, announced on Sunday, May 3, at 9 p.m.
#FightOnPenn
