A win would have clinched the program’s first spot in the Ivy League Tournament since 2022. A loss would mean the end of the road.
The Red had bent but never broken, withstood a furious Yale rally and pushed one of the nation’s top teams to the brink. For 60 minutes, the Red threw everything it had at the Bulldogs and still stood tall.
But in overtime, when Fallon Vaughn’s shot found the net and Yale’s bench exploded in celebration, the dream ended. The Red’s season, so full of promise, so often defying expectations, seemed to slip away in a 16-15 defeat.
“They left it all on the field,” said head coach Jenny Graap ’86. “They didn’t hold back. They went for it with everything they had and emptied the tank. I’m so proud as a coach to have a team that can do that. It was a very strong statement. Sadly, it fell a fraction shy of the ultimate outcome. We missed the mark so narrowly, and that hurt. It hurt so bad to feel like you gave it everything, and it was just not quite enough.”
From the opening whistle, the Red (9-7, 3-4 Ivy) played like a team unwilling to let the moment slip away. With their season hanging in the balance, senior attackers Josie Vogel and Kylie Gelabert, as well as senior midfielder Caitlin Slaminko, wasted no time making their mark, each finding the back of the net in a spirited first quarter.
However, it was clear Yale (12-3, 5-2 Ivy) wasn’t going to fold easily. The Bulldogs answered with a flurry of their own, matching the Red goal for goal and refusing to let the margin widen. At the half-mark, the Red held a precarious 8-7 lead.
“We were very clear on our goal to earn a spot in the 2025 Ivy Tournament,” Graap said. “[Director of Sports Leadership and Mental Conditioning] Dr. Greg Shelley talked about running to the roar. When there’s a lot of excitement and emotion around something, instead of shying away from it, embrace it and run toward it. Go all in. I thought it was really helpful, and I think our women responded well to that message.”
Coming out of halftime, the Red seemed to have shifted into overdrive. Yale had no answer for the Red’s offensive barrage, at one point allowing the Red to go on a dominant 5-0 run, giving the Red a three-goal lead going into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter was a much different story, as the game would shift back in favor of the Bulldogs. Yale scored a game-tying goal with under a minute left of play, seeing regulation end tied 15-15.
“Credit to Yale – they're a very experienced team,” Graap said. “That's why they’re [one of the] top 10 teams in the nation. They won the Ivy League undefeated a year ago, and they were also looking at this game as a must-win. It was an incredible, incredible game with two really powerful teams battling to the bitter end.”
As soon as the first whistle of overtime blew, the high stakes provoked relentless play, with each team trying to score the golden goal that would secure victory. This goal would unfortunately come in the form of a quick shot from a Bulldog attacker, officially ending the Red’s Ivy League campaign.
It would be easy to define the season by its final seconds – the sudden end, the what-ifs left hanging in the air. But that would miss the point.
Across the season, the Red built an identity as one of the nation’s most electric offenses. It finished top 25 nationally in scoring, shot percentage and assists. Fourteen times in 15 games, the Red reached double-figure scoring. The team out-ran, out-shot and outlasted opponents with a fearlessness that made every game a battle.
This was a team that stared down pressure and never blinked. A team that pushed No. 6 Yale to the edge. That went goal for goal with No. 7/8 Princeton and came up just short. That took down No. 21/22 Harvard on Senior Day when everything was at stake.
Game after game, the Red proved it belonged. It fought until there was nothing left to give.
And in the end, that’s what endures. Not a bracket spot, not a trophy, but the stubborn truth that the fight itself was worth it.
“They never gave up, no matter what the situation was,” Graap said. “There was a collective resiliency and determination, which is awesome, because when you have a team like that, you know you’re in every game. You battle hard, and people can’t take you lightly. That part of it is what I’ll remember — the leadership, the camaraderie, the unity of the group.”
For now, the Red sit on the outside looking in. While there is some optimism that the team could make the National Collegiate Athletics Association, its fate now rests in the hands of the selection committee.
Whatever happens next, the Red has already made its statement. It fought until the end. Its players played for each other. And if the road ends here, it certainly will not be for lack of heart.
