Box Score (PDF)

ITHACA, N.Y. — A dominant first half propelled Cornell women's lacrosse to a 10-6 win in its Ivy League opener against Yale on Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field. The Big Red—now 3-0, its best start since 2013—was led by sophomore Taylor Reed with three goals, while junior Catherine Ellis added a goal and an assist.

Cornell smothered Yale in the first half, nearly taking a 6-0 lead into halftime until Hope Hanley got the Bulldogs on the board with 18 seconds left in the stanza. Yale came charging back in the early goings of the second half, however, scoring three goals in the first 6:47 of the frame to cut the deficit to two. Sophomore Joey Coffy scored a big goal for the Big Red with 17:28 left, halting Yale's run and swinging the momentum back in Cornell's favor.

Reed got the game's first tally six minutes in on a free position goal, the first of four for the Big Red in the first half. Freshman Tomasina Leska doubled Cornell's lead less than two minutes later, getting the ball at the 12-meter fan, making a move around her defender and putting away a low shot from the left side for her fourth goal of the season. Senior Emily Tripodi kept things rolling for the Big Red, powering her way through pressure and taking a shot from the right side that found the left side of the net for her first goal of the season.

Reed, Ellis and Gilbert each tacked on free position goals before the half expired. Reed sprinted in and tucked a shot into the lower right corner with 14:19 left in the half. Ellis took a few quick steps from the arc before firing past Yale goaltender Sydney Marks with 9:58 to go for her first tally of the year, and Gilbert calmly placed a shot on Marks' right with 3:22 left.

The Big Red outshot Yale, 23-5, in the first half, holding possession and dominating play throughout.

The Bulldogs made adjustments at halftime and used a pair of man-up goals to cut Cornell's lead to 6-4 in the second half. But Coffy, who had had a number of quality chances in the first half, found the back of the net to halt Yale's 4-0 scoring run with 17:28 to go. Coffy got the ball on the right side of the fan and looked to pass, but saw a lane and drove through the Bulldogs defense, putting away a low blast.

Yale answered quickly, with Katie Smith netting her second of the day, but Cornell wouldn't let the Bulldogs get any closer. Reed tacked on her third, making a move around her defender and beating Marks high.

Freshman Christie Raymond used a free position shot to score her first career goal, ripping a shot past three Yale defenders and through Marks' legs to give the Big Red a 9-5 lead with 9:26 to go. Ellis fed sophomore Anna Baumeister, and Baumeister's shot into the bottom left of the net once again put Cornell up by five.

Hope Hanley would add one more for Yale with 41 seconds left.

Junior goaltender Renee Poullott finished with four saves. Junior defender Catie Smith led the Big Red with six ground balls, while senior Maddie Kiep picked up three draw controls.

Cornell will have a quick turnaround, heading to Colgate on Wednesday for a 5 p.m. matchup with the Raiders before returning home to Schoellkopf Field next Saturday to face Ivy foe Columbia at 3 p.m.