By Stephen Tobey — Correspondent
At Concord-Carlisle High School, Fallon Vaughn was one of the girls lacrosse program’s most decorated players ever.
After a brief interruption in her career, she picked up right where she left off while playing for Yale University, where she is now a junior.
Earlier this month, Vaughn earned her third straight All-Ivy League honor. She also earned the conference’s Midfielder of the Year honor. She was the first Yale player to receive one of the Ivy League’s major annual awards since 2008.
On May 9, Vaughn received third-team All-America honors from USA Lacrosse. On May 16, she earned ILWomen second-team All-America recognition.
“It means a lot,” said Vaughn. “It’s because of the team and what everyone did. We won the Ivy League title outright for the first time ever.”
Bulldog berth
The Bulldogs finished the regular season at 15-2 overall and 7-0 in the Ivy League. On Sunday, May 5, Yale won the Ivy League tournament title and the automatic berth into the NCAA tournament that went with it after a 10-9 overtime victory against Penn.
Yale began play in the NCAA tournament on May 10 defeating Binghamton 17-4 at Reese Stadium in New Haven, Connecticut. On Sunday, May 12, Yale defeated Johns Hopkins, 9-7, also at Yale.
The Bulldogs’ run in the tournament ended on May 16 when they lost to Syracuse, 19-9 in the quarterfinals.
In the regular season, Vaughn was the only player in the Ivy League with more than 25 goals, 40 points, 25 ground balls, 20 caused turnovers and 40 draw controls. She led the league in caused turnovers per game with 2.29 and was tied for sixth in the league in ground balls per game with 2.29.
Vaughn totaled 25 goals and 19 assists for 44 points. She’s picked up 26 ground balls and contributed 22 caused turnovers. She had 40 draw controls. She’s scored at least one goal or assist in 20 straight games and started every game of her career.
At Concord-Carlisle, Vaughn earned All-America honors as a freshman, sophomore and junior, while helping the team reach the MIAA Division 1 East finals in all three seasons. The Patriots also won the Dual County League Large School Division champions in 2019.
As a senior in 2020, Vaughn was looking forward to adding to her legacy at C-C, but the Covid pandemic forced cancellation of the season.
Family footsteps
Vaughn had already committed to follow in the footsteps of her older sister, Payton, who played for Yale and graduated last year.
With the Ivy League canceling the 2021 season, Vaughn took a gap year. She did some tutoring and worked with younger lacrosse players on their games. She also spent some time living in Jackson Hole, Wyoming with several of her future Yale teammates.
“We were just skiing and working on the mountain,” Vaughn said. “It helped me mature. It was the first time I had not played lacrosse since the third grade.”
Though Vaughn’s freshman year at Yale was a success by any standard, it did take her a little time to get used to the college game.
“You know the game is going to be faster and everyone is more athletic,” she said. “You still don’t realize how much faster and more athletic everyone is until you experience it. Having my sister here for two years helped. The team was also very helpful and supportive.”
Payton Vaughn, a 2018 graduate of Concord-Carlisle, was a two-time high school All-American. She was Yale’s captain last year and a second-team All-Ivy selection as a senior.
This year, Payton is a graduate student at the University of Denver. She plays for the Pioneers, using the fifth year of eligibility that the NCAA granted athletes who missed a season due to the pandemic. In eight games, she’s collected 17 ground balls to go along with seven caused turnovers and two draw controls.
On April 22 Denver and Payton faced Yale and Fallon in Philadelphia. Denver prevailed, 12-11.
“Everyone on that team was just so fast,” Fallon said.
After the game, “it was not a fun tailgate. My mother actually said no matter what happened, it was ‘lose-lose.’”
With one more season at Yale, Fallon hopes to keep building on what she and her teammates have accomplished.
“There are 16 players in my class. We’ve raised the standard in the last three years,” she said. “What we want to do is surpass it and go to another level.”
