Yale 2024

[Lax3]

Thoughts on the team and recruiting for next spring?

[The Orfling]

Congratulations to Chris Lyons for breaking through with recognition at the national level with selection as a USILA Third Team All-American, and congratulations to the great Matt Brandau for his Third Team All-American selection as well. Delighted we'll have one more season to see them playing together on the Yale attack.

[The Orfling]

Yale has some things going for it in 2024. To start:

• 9 out of the top 10 scorers return, representing 88% of the goals and 88% of the points -- Yale will put the ball in the net;

• Yale has its "back four" returning, so far as we know: DeMuth, Alexander, Cohen on close defense and Paquette in goal;

• Yale has its top LSM (Stuzin) and top ssdm (C. Johnson) returning.

However, there are still some question marks for next year -- can Yale make a meaningful step forward defensively? Can they make strides in EMO, man-down defense, clearing?

• Not sure what will change to help the defense better the last two years' showing (#62 nationally in 2023, somewhere south of #50 in 2022)? I don't know enough to know if Yale's much-remarked upon defensive troubles stem from not having personnel who can match up with top offensive threats in the league (certainly a Kirst or Mackesy is a tall order), or a system that doesn't fit the personnel, or what the issue is; but one issue seems to be depth at ssdm and close defense. C. Johnson played well; I'm not sure the experiment of having 2-way middies as opposed to a more dedicated corps of ssdms has worked? Yale converted an LSM to a close defender this year, suggesting they may need more depth at close defense.

• Yale struggled, by any measure, in EMO (59 out of 72 nationally) and man-down defense (70 out of 72 nationally) -- can they make meaningful gains in these "special teams" situations?

• Similarly, even given fast-paced play and a "go-for-broke" attitude that explains some turnovers, Yale was fairly low in clearing percentage (58 out of 72) -- can that be cleaned up while preserving the fast break mentality?

The incoming class of 2027 is not necessarily a "highly touted" recruiting class -- one question I have that bears watching over time is whether Yale MLAX gets the same support in admissions under AD Chun as they got under AD Beckett -- but there are some well-regarded players and Yale has often had success in identifying gritty warriors who didn't make the national lists. There are a couple of incoming IL top 50 attackmen (Chauvette of Lawrenceville and Moynihan of Taft), both of whom have been selected to the game Formerly Known As the Under Armor All-American Game) and 2 4-stars on the defensive side of the ball (LSM Michalik of Brunswick and D Buono of Malvern Prep). I'm not familiar enough with the incoming midfielders to know if any project as ssdms.

Anyway, it was a very enjoyable season in 2023 with an NCAA berth, and here's hoping Yale will return to the tournament in 2024 -- I think they can do that, the bigger question is whether they can find balance on "both sides of the ball" so to speak to try to make a run.

[FannOLax]

Looking ahead to 2024, I'll choose to see the glass half full. I see a lot of similarities between the 2023 team and the 2017 team: knocked out in a close first-round NCAA road game, lots of talent returning next year including a complete attack line, and a head-scratchingly poor EMO unit. The EMO unit came good in 2018 once it started including four natural attackmen (Reeves, Morrill, Rooney and Gaudet) and I'd like to see that in 2024 (with Thomas Bragg certainly on EMO as the outside-shooting threat). As much talent as Yale returned in 2018, several first-years (Starr, Fake and Tevlin) played crucial roles, and I hope we can see more first-year playing time in 2024 than we saw this year. A first-year defenseman in 2024 like Hynes in 2017 or Fake in 2018 would be heaven-sent. I also hope that Shay hires a new defensive coordinator for the 2024 season.

[The Orfling]

Looking ahead to 2024, I'll choose to see the glass half full. I see a lot of similarities between the 2023 team and the 2017 team: knocked out in a close first-round NCAA road game, lots of talent returning next year including a complete attack line, and a head-scratchingly poor EMO unit. The EMO unit came good in 2018 once it started including four natural attackmen (Reeves, Morrill, Rooney and Gaudet) and I'd like to see that in 2024 (with Thomas Bragg certainly on EMO as the outside-shooting threat). As much talent as Yale returned in 2018, several first-years (Starr, Fake and Tevlin) played crucial roles, and I hope we can see more first-year playing time in 2024 than we saw this year. A first-year defenseman in 2024 like Hynes in 2017 or Fake in 2018 would be heaven-sent. I also hope that Shay hires a new defensive coordinator for the 2024 season.

I like the comparison! Agree there are lots of parallels. I'm sure the coaching staff is laser focused on the defensive issues and you're right that Coach Shay has never hesitated to play a talented first-year on defense, whether it was Michael Quinn starting as a first-year a decade ago or the impactful Hynes in 2017/Fake in 2018. Go Elis!

[Ice1570]

I think it’s guaranteed you will see four, if not five attackmen on their man-up next year. Check out the highlights of Hunter Chauvette and I’d be surprised if he’s not another lefty shooter on man-up next year.

[The Orfling]

I think it’s guaranteed you will see four, if not five attackmen on their man-up next year. Check out the highlights of Hunter Chauvette and I’d be surprised if he’s not another lefty shooter on man-up next year.

Good tip -- thanks, Ice.

[FannOLax]

...

The incoming class of 2027 is not necessarily a "highly touted" recruiting class -- one question I have that bears watching over time is whether Yale MLAX gets the same support in admissions under AD Chun as they got under AD Beckett -- but there are some well-regarded players and Yale has often had success in identifying gritty warriors who didn't make the national lists. There are a couple of incoming IL top 50 attackmen (Chauvette of Lawrenceville and Moynihan of Taft), both of whom have been selected to the game Formerly Known As the Under Armor All-American Game) and 2 4-stars on the defensive side of the ball (LSM Michalik of Brunswick and D Buono of Malvern Prep). I'm not familiar enough with the incoming midfielders to know if any project as ssdms.

...

While admissions support is important, I think another, related important factor for Yale is recruiting young men who fully buy into the workaholic, tough-as-nails team culture propagated by Shay. While this culture led to the 2018 natty, I wonder how much that national championship (and the pandemic) changed the Elis' recruiting profile/process enough to dilute that culture. A few players have recently dropped off the roster before graduating, which could indicate a less-than-total dedication to the culture.

Happy Memorial Day to all! Here's hoping for a terrific game between Duke and Notre Dame. Having mentioned the 2018 natty, I gotta mention that Chris Fake and Brian Tevlin today have the chance to win another national championship, this time in Irish colors, an accomplishment that would be a fairy-tale ending to the NCAA careers of these terrific young men.

[another fan]

...

The incoming class of 2027 is not necessarily a "highly touted" recruiting class -- one question I have that bears watching over time is whether Yale MLAX gets the same support in admissions under AD Chun as they got under AD Beckett -- but there are some well-regarded players and Yale has often had success in identifying gritty warriors who didn't make the national lists. There are a couple of incoming IL top 50 attackmen (Chauvette of Lawrenceville and Moynihan of Taft), both of whom have been selected to the game Formerly Known As the Under Armor All-American Game) and 2 4-stars on the defensive side of the ball (LSM Michalik of Brunswick and D Buono of Malvern Prep). I'm not familiar enough with the incoming midfielders to know if any project as ssdms.

...

While admissions support is important, I think another, related important factor for Yale is recruiting young men who fully buy into the workaholic, tough-as-nails team culture propagated by Shay. While this culture led to the 2018 natty, I wonder how much that national championship (and the pandemic) changed the Elis' recruiting profile/process enough to dilute that culture. A few players have recently dropped off the roster before graduating, which could indicate a less-than-total dedication to the culture.

Happy Memorial Day to all! Here's hoping for a terrific game between Duke and Notre Dame. Having mentioned the 2018 natty, I gotta mention that Chris Fake and Brian Tevlin today have the chance to win another national championship, this time in Irish colors, an accomplishment that would be a fairy-tale ending to the NCAA careers of these terrific young men.

I cannot speak to your admissions support or team culture, but I would not get too caught up in the tout represented by the IL star system. I have not seen much of your Lawrenceville recruits including Chauvette (who is a great shooter), but I have seen Moynihan a couple times and you will love him. Blazing speed and usually looked to me like the best player on the field. Your attack is already pretty stacked, but he will be tough to keep off the field. And the 2 poles you mention are both outstanding.

[Lax3]

NCAA Finals:

Fake/Tevlin - 2
Duke - 0

Just saying ...

[FannOLax]

NCAA Finals:

Fake/Tevlin - 2
Duke - 0

Just saying ...

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ ... ners/61635

[The Orfling]

...

The incoming class of 2027 is not necessarily a "highly touted" recruiting class -- one question I have that bears watching over time is whether Yale MLAX gets the same support in admissions under AD Chun as they got under AD Beckett -- but there are some well-regarded players and Yale has often had success in identifying gritty warriors who didn't make the national lists. There are a couple of incoming IL top 50 attackmen (Chauvette of Lawrenceville and Moynihan of Taft), both of whom have been selected to the game Formerly Known As the Under Armor All-American Game) and 2 4-stars on the defensive side of the ball (LSM Michalik of Brunswick and D Buono of Malvern Prep). I'm not familiar enough with the incoming midfielders to know if any project as ssdms.

...

While admissions support is important, I think another, related important factor for Yale is recruiting young men who fully buy into the workaholic, tough-as-nails team culture propagated by Shay. While this culture led to the 2018 natty, I wonder how much that national championship (and the pandemic) changed the Elis' recruiting profile/process enough to dilute that culture. A few players have recently dropped off the roster before graduating, which could indicate a less-than-total dedication to the culture.

Happy Memorial Day to all! Here's hoping for a terrific game between Duke and Notre Dame. Having mentioned the 2018 natty, I gotta mention that Chris Fake and Brian Tevlin today have the chance to win another national championship, this time in Irish colors, an accomplishment that would be a fairy-tale ending to the NCAA careers of these terrific young men.

I cannot speak to your admissions support or team culture, but I would not get too caught up in the tout represented by the IL star system. I have not seen much of your Lawrenceville recruits including Chauvette (who is a great shooter), but I have seen Moynihan a couple times and you will love him. Blazing speed and usually looked to me like the best player on the field. Your attack is already pretty stacked, but he will be tough to keep off the field. And the 2 poles you mention are both outstanding.

Thanks, another fan. I saw some clips of Moynihan on twitter this spring and he looked great (as did his Taft teammate, 2024 YaleMLax goalie commit Ben Friedman) but it's always better to hear from somebody who has seen a player in full games. Glad as well to hear the endorsement of the two poles.

[coda]

Yale has some things going for it in 2024. To start:

• 9 out of the top 10 scorers return, representing 88% of the goals and 88% of the points -- Yale will put the ball in the net;

• Yale has its "back four" returning, so far as we know: DeMuth, Alexander, Cohen on close defense and Paquette in goal;

• Yale has its top LSM (Stuzin) and top ssdm (C. Johnson) returning.

However, there are still some question marks for next year -- can Yale make a meaningful step forward defensively? Can they make strides in EMO, man-down defense, clearing?

• Not sure what will change to help the defense better the last two years' showing (#62 nationally in 2023, somewhere south of #50 in 2022)? I don't know enough to know if Yale's much-remarked upon defensive troubles stem from not having personnel who can match up with top offensive threats in the league (certainly a Kirst or Mackesy is a tall order), or a system that doesn't fit the personnel, or what the issue is; but one issue seems to be depth at ssdm and close defense. C. Johnson played well; I'm not sure the experiment of having 2-way middies as opposed to a more dedicated corps of ssdms has worked? Yale converted an LSM to a close defender this year, suggesting they may need more depth at close defense.

• Yale struggled, by any measure, in EMO (59 out of 72 nationally) and man-down defense (70 out of 72 nationally) -- can they make meaningful gains in these "special teams" situations?

• Similarly, even given fast-paced play and a "go-for-broke" attitude that explains some turnovers, Yale was fairly low in clearing percentage (58 out of 72) -- can that be cleaned up while preserving the fast break mentality?

The incoming class of 2027 is not necessarily a "highly touted" recruiting class -- one question I have that bears watching over time is whether Yale MLAX gets the same support in admissions under AD Chun as they got under AD Beckett -- but there are some well-regarded players and Yale has often had success in identifying gritty warriors who didn't make the national lists. There are a couple of incoming IL top 50 attackmen (Chauvette of Lawrenceville and Moynihan of Taft), both of whom have been selected to the game Formerly Known As the Under Armor All-American Game) and 2 4-stars on the defensive side of the ball (LSM Michalik of Brunswick and D Buono of Malvern Prep). I'm not familiar enough with the incoming midfielders to know if any project as ssdms.

Anyway, it was a very enjoyable season in 2023 with an NCAA berth, and here's hoping Yale will return to the tournament in 2024 -- I think they can do that, the bigger question is whether they can find balance on "both sides of the ball" so to speak to try to make a run.

Very familiar with Hunter. He is definitely in the argument for best shooter in the class. The speed he gets his shot off is elite. This is not a guy that needs a lot of room to shoot. Enough athleticism to beat a bad approach, but don’t expect him to create a lot of offense. Seen Brunswick multiple times this year and it’s hard to comment on a defender. They really struggled on defense this year.

[The Orfling]

Yale has some things going for it in 2024. To start:

• 9 out of the top 10 scorers return, representing 88% of the goals and 88% of the points -- Yale will put the ball in the net;

• Yale has its "back four" returning, so far as we know: DeMuth, Alexander, Cohen on close defense and Paquette in goal;

• Yale has its top LSM (Stuzin) and top ssdm (C. Johnson) returning.

However, there are still some question marks for next year -- can Yale make a meaningful step forward defensively? Can they make strides in EMO, man-down defense, clearing?

• Not sure what will change to help the defense better the last two years' showing (#62 nationally in 2023, somewhere south of #50 in 2022)? I don't know enough to know if Yale's much-remarked upon defensive troubles stem from not having personnel who can match up with top offensive threats in the league (certainly a Kirst or Mackesy is a tall order), or a system that doesn't fit the personnel, or what the issue is; but one issue seems to be depth at ssdm and close defense. C. Johnson played well; I'm not sure the experiment of having 2-way middies as opposed to a more dedicated corps of ssdms has worked? Yale converted an LSM to a close defender this year, suggesting they may need more depth at close defense.

• Yale struggled, by any measure, in EMO (59 out of 72 nationally) and man-down defense (70 out of 72 nationally) -- can they make meaningful gains in these "special teams" situations?

• Similarly, even given fast-paced play and a "go-for-broke" attitude that explains some turnovers, Yale was fairly low in clearing percentage (58 out of 72) -- can that be cleaned up while preserving the fast break mentality?

The incoming class of 2027 is not necessarily a "highly touted" recruiting class -- one question I have that bears watching over time is whether Yale MLAX gets the same support in admissions under AD Chun as they got under AD Beckett -- but there are some well-regarded players and Yale has often had success in identifying gritty warriors who didn't make the national lists. There are a couple of incoming IL top 50 attackmen (Chauvette of Lawrenceville and Moynihan of Taft), both of whom have been selected to the game Formerly Known As the Under Armor All-American Game) and 2 4-stars on the defensive side of the ball (LSM Michalik of Brunswick and D Buono of Malvern Prep). I'm not familiar enough with the incoming midfielders to know if any project as ssdms.

Anyway, it was a very enjoyable season in 2023 with an NCAA berth, and here's hoping Yale will return to the tournament in 2024 -- I think they can do that, the bigger question is whether they can find balance on "both sides of the ball" so to speak to try to make a run.

Very familiar with Hunter. He is definitely in the argument for best shooter in the class. The speed he gets his shot off is elite. This is not a guy that needs a lot of room to shoot. Enough athleticism to beat a bad approach, but don’t expect him to create a lot of offense. Seen Brunswick multiple times this year and it’s hard to comment on a defender. They really struggled on defense this year.

As a couple of other posters have observed, Yale right now (barring injury) has all three starting attackmen returning, but perhaps the EMO unit (which struggled this year) would be a place for guys like Chauvette and Moynihan to contribute immediately.

[The Orfling]

Congratulations to Patrick Hackler on being elected captain of the Yale 2023 - 2024 Men's Lacrosse Team -- the sole captaincy is, as always, a signal honor. Congratulations as well to MVP Matt Brandau, best defensive player Mikey Alexander, and the rest of the award winners: https://yalebulldogs.com/news/2023/6/6/ ... unced.aspx

[FannOLax]

Congratulations to Patrick Hackler on being elected captain of the Yale 2023 - 2024 Men's Lacrosse Team -- the sole captaincy is, as always, a signal honor. Congratulations as well to MVP Matt Brandau, best defensive player Mikey Alexander, and the rest of the award winners: https://yalebulldogs.com/news/2023/6/6/ ... unced.aspx

Yes, congratulations to Patrick Hackler. The link above incorrectly identifies the 2019 captain, an honor held by John Danigellis, who like Hackler was a midfielder who was also QB of his HS football team. https://yalebulldogs.com/sports/mens-la ... gelis/3524

[hofpride]

whats the deal with PG schools - do kids have to take their SAT tests over or meet and given gpa to get into a school like yale?

[Farfromgeneva]

The FFGs are rooting for Brody Coleman - CNY athlete who can play two ways and also member of the 2024 FanLax Fantasy Champion team.

[Lax3]

Chauvette changes his commitment from Yale to JHU

[FannOLax]

Chauvette changes his commitment from Yale to JHU

Yes, Hop folks are really happy about Chauvette, understandably...

Here's a bit on a FOGO from Long Island who appears to be Yale-bound. https://www.hufsd.edu/articles/2022/january/25a.html Multi-sport HS athletes tend to do well for Yale.

Yale 2023 commit attackman/midfielder Cole Cashion just won an NJ state championship. https://www.dailyrecord.com/story/sport ... 297504007/