No. 16 Yale Faces No. 12 BC Friday in NCAA Tourney at Stony Brook

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The No. 16 Yale women's lacrosse team faces No. 12 Boston College Friday (4:00 p.m., ESPN+, Live Stats, Tickets) in the NCAA Tournament at Stony Brook. This is the second straight season that these two teams have met in the NCAA Tournament.

Last Game
Yale (13-4, 6-1 Ivy League), the No. 1 seed in the Ivy League Tournament, fell to Princeton 12-8 in the tournament championship game this past Sunday at Reese Stadium. Sophomore goalkeeper Niamh Pfaff (Garden City, N.Y.) made nine saves and first-year attacker Kate Gould (Nyack, N.Y.) had five draw controls and a pair of goals.

NCAA Tournament First and Second Rounds at Stony Brook
Yale and BC (9-7, 6-4 ACC) both made the tournament as at-large selections. The NCAA announced the bracket Sunday night on ESPNU. No. 11 Stony Brook (16-2, 7-0 CAA), the No. 5 seed in the tournament, hosts unseeded Stonehill (13-6, 8-1 NEC) at 1:00 p.m. Friday. Stony Brook earned the Coastal Athletic Association's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament by winning the CAA Tournament last Saturday. Stonehill earned the Northeast Conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament by winning the NEC Tournament last Saturday.

The winners of those games will meet Sunday at 12:00 p.m. to determine who advances to the quarterfinal round.

Where to Watch
All first- and second-round games of the NCAA Tournament will be streamed on ESPN+.

The NCAA Tournament
The NCAA Tournament includes 29 teams. The three top overall seeds earn a first-round bye, with the remaining 26 teams playing first-round games at campus sites on Friday, May 8. The second round (Sunday, May 10) and quarterfinal round (Thursday, May 14) take place at campus sites as well.

The eight seeded teams are:

Northwestern (Big Ten)
North Carolina (ACC)
Maryland (Big Ten)
Johns Hopkins (Big Ten)
Stony Brook (CAA)
Navy (Patriot)
Michigan (Big Ten)
Colorado (Big 12)

The semifinals and championship game will be played on Friday, May 22 and Sunday, May 24 at Northwestern's Martin Stadium in Evanston, Ill.

Yale's NCAA Tournament History
Yale is making its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance, the first time in school history that has happened. Yale is 5-5 in the tournament all-time, advancing as far as the quarterfinal round three times.

Year	Result	Opponent	Yale Score	Opp. Score	OT	Site	Round
May 9, 1984	Loss	UMass	5	6	OT	New Haven, Conn.	1st Round
May 8, 2003	Win	Syracuse	12	7		New Haven, Conn.	1st Round
May 11, 2003	Loss	Loyola (Md.)	7	13		Baltimore, Md.	Quarterfinal
May 19, 2007	Loss	Maryland	7	13		College Park, Md.	1st Round
May 10, 2024	Win	Binghamton	17	4		New Haven, Conn.	1st Round
May 12, 2024	Win	Johns Hopkins	9	7		New Haven, Conn.	2nd Round
May 16, 2024	Loss	Syracuse	9	19		Syracuse, N.Y.	Quarterfinal
May 9, 2025	Win	UAlbany	12	9		New Haven, Conn.	1st Round
May 11, 2025	Win	Syracuse	9	8		New Haven, Conn.	2nd Round
May 15, 2025	Loss	Boston College	11	18		Chestnut Hill, Mass.	Quarterfinal

Yale's Ivy League Title History
Yale went 6-1 in the Ivy League during the regular season. That Ivy record earned the Bulldogs the outright Ivy title, the fourth Ivy title in school history:

1980 (4-0-2, shared with Penn)
2003 (6-1, shared with Dartmouth and Princeton)
2024 (7-0, solo)
2026 (6-1, solo)

The Bulldogs also have won two Ivy League Tournament Championships:

2024 at Reese Stadium
2025 at Princeton's Class of 1952 Stadium

Ivy League Tournament
This past weekend marked Yale's fifth appearance in the Ivy League Tournament. Yale was the No. 1 seed in the Ivy League Tournament for the second time in school history. This was the 15th installment of the Ivy League Tournament since 2010.

2022 (No. 2 seed) at Princeton:
- Beat No. 3 seed Cornell 16-6 in Tournament Semifinals
- Lost to No. 1 seed Princeton 19-9 in Tournament Championship
2023 (No. 2 seed) at Penn:
- Beat No. 3 seed Princeton 11-10 in OT in Tournament Semifinals
- Lost to No. 1 seed Penn 15-14 in OT in Tournament Championship
2024 (No. 1 seed) at Yale:
- Beat No. 4 seed Harvard 14-10 in Tournament Semifinals
- Beat No. 3 seed Penn 10-9 in OT in Tournament Championship
2025 (No. 2 seed) at Princeton:
- Beat No. 3 seed Penn 11-10 in Tournament Semifinals
- Beat No. 1 seed Princeton 17-6 in Tournament Championship
2026 (No. 1 seed) at Yale:
- Beat No. 4 seed Brown 11-6 in Tournament Semifinals
- Lost to No. 3 seed Princeton 12-8 in Tournament Championship

Ivy League Awards
Yale had six players and the coaching staff honored by the Ivy League on Apr. 28 as the league announced its annual awards.

Senior defender Emmy Pascal (Lorton, Va.) was named Defender of the Year
First-year attacker Kate Gould (Nyack, N.Y.) was named Rookie of the Year
Yale's staff was named Ivy League Coaching Staff of the Year:
- Erica Bamford, Yale's Joel E. Smilow Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse,
- Colleen Smith, Associate Head Coach
- Molly Palella, Assistant Coach, Recruiting Coordinator
- Brooklyn Neumen, Assistant Coach
Senior attacker Ashley Newman (Manhasset, N.Y.) was named Academic All-Ivy League

Two Bulldogs earned first team All-Ivy League recognition:

First-Year attacker Kate Gould (Nyack, N.Y.)
Senior defender Emmy Pascal (Lorton, Va.)

Two Bulldogs earned second team All-Ivy recognition:

Junior defender Katie Clare (Bayport, N.Y.)
Sophomore goalkeeper Niamh Pfaff (Garden City, N.Y.)

One Bulldog earned honorable mention All-Ivy recognition:

Junior attacker Ashley Kiernan (Chatham, N.J.)

Yale Class of 2026
Yale's six seniors have been a part of a memorable run. The team is 57-17 overall and 22-6 in Ivy League games in their time here. They are the winningest class in school history:

Attacker Megan Kitagawa (Syosset, N.Y.)
Defender Jordan Messina (Sayville, N.Y.)
Attacker Ashley Newman (Manhasset, N.Y.)
Defender Emmy Pascal (Lorton, Va.)
Defender Bella Saviano (Severna Park, Md.)
Defender Sarah Waits (McLean, Va.)

Strength of Schedule
Including Friday's NCAA Tournament first-round game, nine of Yale's last 11 opponents are/were ranked or receiving votes in the ILWomen national poll.

Defense is Key
Yale is ranked No. 4 in the nation in scoring defense (7.47 goals allowed per game). This comes on the heels of a 2025 season in which Yale finished No. 4 nationally in scoring defense (8.80 goals allowed per game) and a 2024 season in which Yale finished No. 3 nationally in scoring defense (8.35 goals allowed per game).

Long Island Bulldogs
The Bulldogs have seven players from Long Island. They are:

Junior defender Katie Clare (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point/Long Island Yellow Jackets)
Sophomore defender Skylar Cohen (Port Washington, N.Y./Friends Academy/Long Island Yellow Jackets)
Senior attacker Megan Kitagawa (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset/Long Island Yellow Jackets)
Senior defender Jordan Messina (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville/Long Island Yellow Jackets)
Senior attacker Ashley Newman (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset/Long Island Yellow Jackets)
Junior attacker Paris Panagopoulos (Old Brookville, N.Y./Friends Academy/Long Island Yellow Jackets)
Sophomore goalkeeper Niamh Pfaff (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City/Long Island Liberty)

Pascal a Tewaaraton Nominee
Senior defender Emmy Pascal (Lorton, Va.), Yale's captain, was one of 25 nominees for the Tewaaraton Award as the best college women's lacrosse player. Pascal is second in the Ivy League in caused turnovers (34) and is fourth in the Ivy League in ground balls (40). Prior to being chosen as a Tewaaraton Award nominee, she was on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List alongside two other Bulldogs – first-year midfielder Kate Gould (Nyack, N.Y.) and sophomore goalkeeper Niamh Pfaff (Garden City, N.Y.).

A Decisive Shot Advantage
Yale has outshot its opponents 493-365 this season, an average margin of +7.5 shots per game.

Ball Security
Yale leads the nation in fewest turnovers per game (10.12).

Iron Women
Seven Bulldogs have started all 17 games of the season:

Sophomore defender Katie Clare (Bayport, N.Y.)
First-year attacker Kate Gould (Nyack, N.Y.)
Junior defender Sydney Grogan (Bedford, N.H.)
Sophomore attacker Kelly Holmes (Darien, Conn.)
Senior defender Emmy Pascal (Lorton, Va.)
Sophomore goalkeeper Niamh Pfaff (Garden City, N.Y.)
Senior defender Bella Saviano (Severna Park, Md.)

A Veteran Coaching Staff
This is Yale's 11th year under Erica Bamford, Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse. Associate head coach Colleen Smith is in her 10th year. Assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Molly Palella is in her ninth year. Assistant coach Brooklyn Neumen joined the staff last year. The quartet was named Ivy League Coaching Staff of the Year.

The Series vs. Boston College
Yale won 10 straight in this series from 1993 through 2008, but the Eagles have won the last nine. That includes an 18-11 BC win in last year's NCAA Quarterfinals in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

Common Opponents
Yale and BC had three common opponents this year: Harvard, No. 6 Michigan and No. 7 Syracuse. Both went 2-1 against those teams. Here are the scores:

Opponent	BC Goals For	BC Goals Against	Yale Goals For	Yale Goals Against
Harvard	15	5	14	13
Michigan	9	10	11	6
Syracuse	7	4	5	6
TOTAL	31	19	29	25

The Eagles
Boston College has dropped two of its last three games, including a 14-7 loss to then-No. 9 Stanford in the ACC Quarterfinals on Apr. 22. The Eagles are ranked in the top 10 nationally in clearing percentage (seventh, .930), free position percentage (10th, .538) and fewest turnovers per game (10th, 11.81). The Eagles are making their 13th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. They have advanced to eight straight NCAA semifinals and seven of the last eight national championship games, winning championships in 2021 and 2024.

Friday Weather Forecast for Stony Brook, N.Y.:
From the National Weather Service: Sunny, high near 69.

Social Media

?? Niamh Pfaff denies a Princeton fast break in the fourth! #ThisIsYale

Watch on ESPN+ ?? https://t.co/DQpHihUPp4 pic.twitter.com/0KwHPXYp4N
— Yale Women's Lacrosse (@YaleWLacrosse) May 3, 2026