Yale University is a juxtaposition of old and new.
The history-rich university is at the forefront of technology and innovation. David Bushnell is credited with creating the first submarine used in combat while studying at Yale in 1775. Justin Kan created the first live streaming platform, now known as Twitch, in 2007 just after graduating.
Upon arriving at Yale, most freshmen live on Old Campus, the oldest area of Yale that comprised most Yale College’s grounds upon arrival in 1718. The brick construction of the 1700s and 1800s made way for the Gothic architecture of the 1900s — each a reflection of the architectural breakthroughs of the times.
The latest architectural marvel at Yale was built just recently. The Tsai Lacrosse Field House, which opened May 31, 2021, is a state-of-the-art facility that serves as home to Yale’s lacrosse and soccer teams. Nestled within the walls of the 34,800-square-foot building is a 2,000-square-foot space dedicated to athletic medicine that includes hydrotherapy pools, an aquatic treadmill, a physician’s office and a diagnostics space with x-ray and DEXA scan equipment, which measures bone density and the composition of fat and muscle in the body.
The Tsai Lacrosse Field House offers women’s lacrosse coach Erica Bamford yet another weapon to use in recruiting. Named the program’s head coach on July 1, 2015, Bamford inherited a program with previous success under Amanda O’Leary before she departed for Florida but had been stuck in a rut, going 43-63 under Anne Phillips between 2009-15.
The rocky road continued in Bamford’s first four years. The Bulldogs compiled a 25-36 record from 2016-19, but there was something brewing. During that time, Bamford was busy recruiting the future classes of Bulldogs that would bring Yale back to its glory days — and even exceed them.
Bamford just didn’t know it at the time. Those future Elis didn’t know it either. They had faith, though. Faith in themselves, and perhaps more importantly, faith in Bamford, a former U.S. National Team member who spent seven years as an assistant under O’Leary at Florida before taking her first head coaching job at Yale.
“I just really believed in Erica,” said senior Fallon Vaughn, an up-and-down midfielder who Bamford calls generational. “She’s extremely hands on. My sophomore year, I was having a shooting rut, and Erica would come out to shoot with me before some of the games. That’s pretty unique. When Erica has faith in you, it means so much.”
That’s “Erica,” not “Coach Bamford.” Some call her “Coach,” Vaughn said, but Bamford has established such an easy, comfortable culture that she’s more collaborator than authoritarian.
“I just love playing for Erica,” junior defender Emmy Pascal said. “She created a very strong culture at Yale, and that was something I was looking for. She had so much confidence in the people she was recruiting with the coaching staff that they could have a lot of success.”
It took that culture time to develop. Even though those first four years didn’t yield much in the way of results, those players set the standard.
Jenna Collignon and Pascal are roommates in a home on Lake Place. Many of the upperclassmen live nearby. They host the underclassmen for “Dancing with the Stars” viewing parties, or they all go together to play pickle ball and pickup basketball. Collignon, a senior, said it’s been like that since she got to New Haven and can only assume it’s because that culture has been passed down by generations of Yale athletes.
“Every woman who has come through our program has contributed to our growth,” Bamford said.
The steady progression hit a new peak in 2024. For the first time in the program’s 49-year history, the Bulldogs were sole champions of the Ivy League. They were 17-3 and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals. With this being the program’s 50th year, Yale has big plans.
The Bulldogs are 7-0 and ranked fourth in the USA Lacrosse Top 20. Their defense ranks second nationally.
“We’re just not done,” Vaughn said. “I know we had such a great year, but every single person on the team will agree with me, I think we feel unsatisfied.”
Bamford has empowered her players to the point where much of a game’s outcome is in their hands. During the Ivy League tournament, Yale spent considerable time practicing different end-game scenarios. Nothing clicked. So Bamford instructed her team to play freely for the next 20 minutes. Everyone realized they're at their best when they aren’t confined to a rigid plan.
“I’ve played for other coaches, and it's their way or the highway,” Vaughn said. “She is willing to listen to what her players think is the best option. She values our input.”
“Erica tries to facilitate an environment where we can just play freely,” Collignon said. “A special part of our offense is that she gives us motions and ideas and a bunch of guidance, but we truly do rely on our chemistry.”
It’s a lot easier to play freely and lean on chemistry when winning. Yale deposited 14 goals per game in 2024, good for 22nd nationally, and a smothering defense ranked third nationally with 8.35 goals allowed per game. That scoring margin of 5.65 ranked 10th in the country.
Not bad for a team that, perhaps wrongly, entered 2024 unranked. Penn and Princeton have largely been the standard bearers in the Ancient Eight in recent history, while Dartmouth has had periods of dominance and Harvard was one of the best teams in women’s lacrosse in the 1980s and early 90s.
Is it Yale’s turn for a sustained era atop the conference? A 16-player senior class, many of whom have spent extra time together after taking gap years during the pandemic, has one last chance to leave an imprint.
“It’s only up from here, really,” Pascal said. “We’re getting incredible new freshman classes every year. The sky is the limit for Yale lacrosse.”
