DURHAM, N.H. – Ashley Durepo (Concord, N.H.) and Beth Sabiston (Bay Shore, N.Y.) both scored a pair of goals in the University of New Hampshire women's lacrosse team's 14-9 non-conference loss to Yale University at Memorial Field on Wednesday afternoon. UNH fell to 1-2 and Yale improved to 3-1.

The Wildcats built a 3-1 lead in the opening 10 minutes of the game when Alexa Webster (Aurora, Colo.) netted a free-position goal at 28:19, then Durepo struck at 24:47 and 20:10 following a goal by Yale's Kat Peetz at 26:55. The visitors pulled even, 3-3, on goals by Lara Melniker (2g) and Lauren Taylor (4g, 1a) at 18:40 and 16:28, respectively.

UNH quickly regained the lead, however, when Shaunna Kaplan (Framingham, Mass.; 1g, 1a), the reigning America East Rookie of the Week, put the ‘Cats back in front, 4-3, just 11 seconds later. Jenn Warden (4g, 1a) forged the third tie of the game, 4-4, at 14:34 and Taylor's second strike of the half at 5:23 gave Yale its first lead at 5-4.

UNH trailed by that score at halftime but pulled even on a free-position goal by Sarah Von Bargen (East Setauket, N.Y.) at 28:31 of the second half. The teams exchanged a pair of goals with New Hampshire rallying to tie the score on goals by Michaela Hardy (Reading, Mass.; at 22:21) and Moira Talbot (Marblehead, Mass.; 19:56).

Melniker, with the assistance of Warden, gave Yale a lead it would not relinquish on a goal that put the visitors ahead 8-7 at 18:55. Warden's third tally of the game gave the Bulldogs their first two-goal advantage at 15:10. Sabiston scored into an open net off Kaplan's pass from behind the goal to pull UNH within 9-8 at 14:39.

Warden's free-position goal at 13:19 sparked a 3-0 run in a span of 5:23 that extended Yale's lead to 12-8 with 7:56 remaining. Sabiston struck again with an unassisted goal at 4:32 and UNH insterted backup goalkeeper Ashley Milley (Sudbury, Mass.) at that point to apply pressure as an extra defender, but Yale won possession on the ensuing draw control and Warden potted her fourth goal of the game into an open net at 3:03.

The Bulldogs controlled possession for much of the remainder of the game and Taylor capped the scoring with 32 seconds to play. UNH starting goalie Natalie Jones (Penn Yan, N.Y.) recorded 10 saves and surrendered 12 goals in 55:28. Milley played the final 4:32 and was credited with one save. Yale's Ellen Cameron stopped six shots.

New Hampshire returns to action March 10 at home against Towson University. Game time at Memorial Field is 1:00 p.m.

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Lauren Taylor and Jenn Warden scored four goals each to lead Yale to a 14-9 win at New Hampshire Wednesday afternoon. The game was tied at seven after the Wildcats' Moira Talbot scored with 19:56 to play, but Lara Melniker's goal one minute later, assisted by Warden, started a 7-2 run for the Bulldogs that put the game away. Warden scored three of her goals during that stretch.

Taylor now has 18 goals in the season's first four games. Melniker and Kat Peetz each finished with a pair of goals, while Linden Ellis and Taylor Fragapane had solo tallies for Yale. Warden added a team-best five ground balls.

Bulldog goaltender Ellen Cameron made six saves. New Hampshire starter Natalie Jones made 10 saves, while Ashley Milley made one stop in 4:32 of relief work. The win was the 12th in a row in the series for Yale. The Bulldogs improve to 3-1 on the year while New Hampshire drops to 1-2.

2007-03-07