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Princeton University Athletics
Photo by: Geoffrey Bolte
Ivy Tournament Champs! Women's Lacrosse Topples Yale, 12-8 And Heads To NCAAs!
May 03, 2026 | Women's Lacrosse
It's automatic.
Princeton left no doubt about its position in the NCAA Tournament, knocking off top-seeded Yale, 12-8, in the Ivy League Tournament final at Reese Stadium in New Haven.
With the win, the Tigers secured their seventh Ivy League Tournament championship which is the most of any Ivy school. The victory also secured the Ivy League's automatic bid to the upcoming 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Princeton trailed for just 4:42 in the game, and turned in a dominant fourth quarter after the Bulldogs had taken an 8-6 lead late in the third.
The win flipped the script on the last two games between the two teams which saw Yale have convincing wins of 17-6 in the 2025 Ivy League Tournament final in Princeton and 16-8 in the regular season in March.
Maggie Molnar was a force in the game, scoring a career-high four goals and winning a career-high eight draw controls.
Jami MacDonald had a five-point game, scoring once and dishing out four assists. Haven Dora scored twice, opening the scoring for the Tigers and then adding the game-winner with 9:06 to play.
The Tigers had a 16-5 edge in draw controls, with Molnar's eight and Ella Sloan's career-high six leading the way. Princeton was especially dominant on the draw in the second half, winning 10 to just two by the Bulldogs.
Amelia Hughes made seven saves in goal, staying fresh as her defense held Yakle to just 23 total shots and just 15 shots on goal.
Haven Dora opened the scoring 1:06 in, cashing in a free position attempt to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
Yale would counter with its first goal of the game 4:12 in off the stick of Meg Bohan.
Neither team would score for the next 10 minutes of play before Maggie Molnar slipped free from a defender and fired home a Jami MacDonald pass with 0:48 to play in the opening period.
Princeton got right back to work out of the halftime break, with Molnar catching a behind-the-back pass from MacDonald and going off the post and in 2:13 into the third quarter.
The Bulldogs finally took their first lead of the game with 3:18 to play in the third quarter via a Gould goal that made the score 7-6. A tally from Ashley Newman with 2.0 seconds to play in the third quarter gave Yale an 8-6 lead through three periods of play.
Rather than let that late goal impact the next quarter, Princeton responded as championship teams do in the fourth.
Princeton left no doubt about its position in the NCAA Tournament, knocking off top-seeded Yale, 12-8, in the Ivy League Tournament final at Reese Stadium in New Haven.
With the win, the Tigers secured their seventh Ivy League Tournament championship which is the most of any Ivy school. The victory also secured the Ivy League's automatic bid to the upcoming 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Princeton trailed for just 4:42 in the game, and turned in a dominant fourth quarter after the Bulldogs had taken an 8-6 lead late in the third.
The fourth quarter was all Princeton as the Tigers scored six unanswered goals to turn an 8-6 deficit into a 12-8 win that knocked off the two-time defending Ivy Tournament champions.Caught 'Em Napping!
— Princeton Women's Lax (@princetonwlax) May 3, 2026
Tigers are quick off a restart and Kirschner fires home her first of the game for a 3-1 lead! pic.twitter.com/28iBpiZU7l
The win flipped the script on the last two games between the two teams which saw Yale have convincing wins of 17-6 in the 2025 Ivy League Tournament final in Princeton and 16-8 in the regular season in March.
Maggie Molnar was a force in the game, scoring a career-high four goals and winning a career-high eight draw controls.
Jami MacDonald had a five-point game, scoring once and dishing out four assists. Haven Dora scored twice, opening the scoring for the Tigers and then adding the game-winner with 9:06 to play.
The Tigers had a 16-5 edge in draw controls, with Molnar's eight and Ella Sloan's career-high six leading the way. Princeton was especially dominant on the draw in the second half, winning 10 to just two by the Bulldogs.
Amelia Hughes made seven saves in goal, staying fresh as her defense held Yakle to just 23 total shots and just 15 shots on goal.
A low-scoring first quarter saw just three goals scored between the two teams.A Hughes Stop!
— Princeton Women's Lax (@princetonwlax) May 3, 2026
Amelia with a slick stick to deny the Buldogs! pic.twitter.com/5cvFrKMnUD
Haven Dora opened the scoring 1:06 in, cashing in a free position attempt to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
Yale would counter with its first goal of the game 4:12 in off the stick of Meg Bohan.
Neither team would score for the next 10 minutes of play before Maggie Molnar slipped free from a defender and fired home a Jami MacDonald pass with 0:48 to play in the opening period.
The Tigers extended their lead to 4-1 with 4:01 to play in the second quarter via goals from Becca Kirschner and Colette Quinn, but a three-goal rally from the Bulldogs closed out the half and sent the teams to the break tied at 4-4. The final two Yale goals of the second half came in the final 0:38, capped by a Nell Ducey goal with 0:08 to play in the half.Maggie Makes It Count!
— Princeton Women's Lax (@princetonwlax) May 3, 2026
Great feed from Jami Mac leads to a Maggie Molnar snipe and we lead, 2-1! pic.twitter.com/HwHfMKfRYw
Princeton got right back to work out of the halftime break, with Molnar catching a behind-the-back pass from MacDonald and going off the post and in 2:13 into the third quarter.
Yale answered quickly to make it 5-5 before Meg Morrisroe's first of the game off a free position attempt with 9:42 to play in the third gave Princeton a 6-5 lead.Behind-The-Back Pass...
— Princeton Women's Lax (@princetonwlax) May 3, 2026
Off The Post...
Over The Line...
Tigers lead, 5-4!@ILWomen | @NCAALAX | @USALMag pic.twitter.com/9RvzHLi1ee
The Bulldogs finally took their first lead of the game with 3:18 to play in the third quarter via a Gould goal that made the score 7-6. A tally from Ashley Newman with 2.0 seconds to play in the third quarter gave Yale an 8-6 lead through three periods of play.
Rather than let that late goal impact the next quarter, Princeton responded as championship teams do in the fourth.
Jami MacDonald showed off her playmaking skills, dishing out assists on the next three goals as Princeton erased the deficit and took a lead it would not relinquish. She set up three different players, finding Morrisroe, Molnar and Dora for goals in a span of 4:30 to help Princeton retake the lead.Tie Game!
— Princeton Women's Lax (@princetonwlax) May 3, 2026
Maggie Molnar with her 2nd career hat trick and we're even at 8-8 midway through the 4th! pic.twitter.com/RVwiSxjGtS
Colette Quinn, Merril Watson and Molnar scored down the stretch, a span of 3:13 that secured the insurance goals Princeton needed to win the Ivy League Tournament and secure its trip to NCAAs.Dora Dodges For The Lead!
— Princeton Women's Lax (@princetonwlax) May 3, 2026
A slick move from Haven and we lead, 9-8! pic.twitter.com/xS7PoHJU6a
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Lacrosse
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/ Women's Lacrosse
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/ Women's Lacrosse
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/ Women's Lacrosse
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/ Women's Lacrosse
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/ Women's Lacrosse
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