Yale 2024

[The Orfling]

11-10 Yale after 3Q; Yale still struggling at X (5 for 24) and getting flagged for a few penalties. Still no EMO success for Yale. Hugh Conrad playing in net for Yale. Yale scrapping hard to win possessions with caused turnovers.

[Lax3]

Yale wins it by four, 16-12. Brandau with nine points - 5 goals, 4 assists - and the goalkeepers are the stars as they were lights out against over 50 shots from Hofstra. Yale sat its top two FOGOs and got crushed, losing 24 out of 31 faceoffs. Yale also played Paquette in the first half and Conrad in the second half as part of a planned substitution according to the announcers. Seems that Yale didn't look at this game as a crucial one - which seems like the correct view going in - with those substitutions and the two FOGOs sitting out. Win is a win.

And LacrosseTV ... come on. The announcers were terrific but the streaming was the worst I have experienced in 25 plus years of watching games. Might have seen 5% of the game with the rest all buffering. Gotta pick it up.

[The Orfling]

And Yale fends off Hofstra for the 16-12 win. A very rough day at the X (7 for 31 but #19 hung in there and kept battling) was ultimately balanced out by a good day in net (64% with both goalies playing well) and another big Brandau outing (5G, 4A). Some exciting plays, including a couple of doorstep saves by Conrad in the second half. And first-year Cole Cashion is coming on strong with a hat trick.

Nice composure by the team to pull out another win on the road. A lot of Hofstra’s shots seemed okay, not great; another team might have made the possession advantage count for more. Looking forward, even with all the injuries this year already, these injuries to the #1 and #2 FOGOs, if serious, may be the proverbial straws that break the camel’s back. But that’s a worry for another day — tonight, Yale gets the W.

[Finster]

And Yale fends off Hofstra for the 16-12 win. A very rough day at the X (7 for 31 but #19 hung in there and kept battling) was ultimately balanced out by a good day in net 64% with both goalies playing well and another big Brandau outing (5G, 4A). Some exciting plays, including a couple of doorstep saves by Conrad had in the second half. And first-year Cole Cashion is coming on strong with a hat trick.

Nice composure by the team to pull out another win on the road. A lot of Hofstra’s shots seemed okay, not great; another team might have made the possession advantage count for more. Looking forward, even with all the injuries this year already, these injuries to the #1 and #2 FOGOs, if serious, may be the proverbial straws that break the camel’s back. But that’s a worry for another day — tonight, Yale gets the W.

Big game from Brandau. He’s making his case for Tewey.

Your next game will be even tougher. Albany has both a good FOGO and a good defense. And it’s in three days.

[10stone5]

Brandau passes some all time players,

10th now all time in scoring.

[The Orfling]

This team has risen to every challenge (and bravo to Brandau, again!) but it would be good if, as Lax3 suggests, Yale was sitting Ramsey and Rodriguez to help them heal tonight and we might see them back on the field again in the near future. Fingers crossed.

[10stone5]

Brandau could surpass 100 points in regular season play
which would be astounding,

I’m don’t believe even Lyle Thompson accomplished that.

[molo]

Helluva year. He started off in the T race behind big names from the ACC and Cornell and is now running with it.

[10stone5]

Brandau,

"He is moving like a tremendous machine!"

[FannOLax]

Yale wins it by four, 16-12. Brandau with nine points - 5 goals, 4 assists - and the goalkeepers are the stars as they were lights out against over 50 shots from Hofstra. Yale sat its top two FOGOs and got crushed, losing 24 out of 31 faceoffs. Yale also played Paquette in the first half and Conrad in the second half as part of a planned substitution according to the announcers. Seems that Yale didn't look at this game as a crucial one - which seems like the correct view going in - with those substitutions and the two FOGOs sitting out. Win is a win.
...

I cannot remember the last time Yale's opponent dominated face-offs so thoroughly; must have been before 2017. Gutsy win last night on the Island.

So, the goalkeeping split sounds clearly pre-planned, but the FOGO situation, well, sounds less clear. Gotta have Rodriguez or Ramsey, preferably both, back healthy and playing to win games in May, and probably in late April against Princeton. Brandau terrific, and it's nice to see Cashion coming on while Moynihan adds to his goal tally. Here's hoping the wheels stay on this bus.

[faircornell]

I think that this was generally mentioned in another thread, but Brandau will have a 100 point regular season if he keeps up his current 7 point plus per game average. Those are big numbers.

[The Orfling]

Brandau,

"He is moving like a tremendous machine!"

That's a good one! I was watching the stream but didn't have the sound on the whole time (I subscribe to the Sling sports package and luckily the Lacrosse TV feed running through Sling was smooth unlike all the buffering issues folks watching on just the Lacrosse TV feed seem to have had).

[Lax3]

FOGOs were not scheduled to play according to a discussion the announcer had with Shay the night before the game. So the goalie split and the lack of top two FOGOs were both planned ahead of time. Very nice win after getting so crushed on the faceoffs.

[The Orfling]

FOGOs were not scheduled to play according to a discussion the announcer had with Shay the night before the game. So the goalie split and the lack of top two FOGOs were both planned ahead of time. Very nice win after getting so crushed on the faceoffs.

I cannot remember the last time Yale's opponent dominated face-offs so thoroughly; must have been before 2017. Gutsy win last night on the Island.

So, the goalkeeping split sounds clearly pre-planned, but the FOGO situation, well, sounds less clear. Gotta have Rodriguez or Ramsey, preferably both, back healthy and playing to win games in May, and probably in late April against Princeton. Brandau terrific, and it's nice to see Cashion coming on while Moynihan adds to his goal tally. Here's hoping the wheels stay on this bus.

Thanks, Lax3, that's good info from the stream of the game. Fann, I agree that for longterm prospects Yale probably needs #8 or #37, preferably both, to return to the field. That's said with full appreciation for #19's first-year FOGO initiation by fire. Hofstra came into the game as a good (53%) but not dominant faceoff team, and as Finster said, Albany is even better at the X (56%), not to mention having a great defense (looking forward to watching Albany's Jake Piseno who is elite).

This is one of the times I miss the input from our LaxPower/Fanlax forum friend calourie, who had such a good historical knowledge of Yale men's lax, but without remembering game by game I can say that Yale's been blessed for over a decade with strong performers at the X: Dylan Levings, Jonathan Reese, Conor Mackie, TD Ierlan, and since 2022 Nicholas Ramsey and Mac Rodriguez. The team hasn't had to figure out alternate strategies for opposing FOGO domination all that much; a Friday turn-around is tough but if #8/#37 stay out that might be an emphasis in practice this week. Yale had LSMs (Michalik then Stuzin) take a few attempts, including on Yale's final goal with a minute to play when Stuzin took the faceoff and Hofstra won the clamp but turned it over with pressure from Stuzin and a Yale shorty, so we might see more of that as well. Yale also adjusted better down the stretch to not allow the Hofstra FOGO to win with the forward pop leading to fast break opportunities (as we've seen Mac R do so well this year for the Bulldogs).

[coda]

FOGOs were not scheduled to play according to a discussion the announcer had with Shay the night before the game. So the goalie split and the lack of top two FOGOs were both planned ahead of time. Very nice win after getting so crushed on the faceoffs.

I cannot remember the last time Yale's opponent dominated face-offs so thoroughly; must have been before 2017. Gutsy win last night on the Island.

So, the goalkeeping split sounds clearly pre-planned, but the FOGO situation, well, sounds less clear. Gotta have Rodriguez or Ramsey, preferably both, back healthy and playing to win games in May, and probably in late April against Princeton. Brandau terrific, and it's nice to see Cashion coming on while Moynihan adds to his goal tally. Here's hoping the wheels stay on this bus.

Thanks, Lax3, that's good info from the stream of the game. Fann, I agree that for longterm prospects Yale probably needs #8 or #37, preferably both, to return to the field. That's said with full appreciation for #19's first-year FOGO initiation by fire. Hofstra came into the game as a good (53%) but not dominant faceoff team, and as Finster said, Albany is even better at the X (56%), not to mention having a great defense (looking forward to watching Albany's Jake Piseno who is elite).

This is one of the times I miss the input from our LaxPower/Fanlax forum friend calourie, who had such a good historical knowledge of Yale men's lax, but without remembering game by game I can say that Yale's been blessed for over a decade with strong performers at the X: Dylan Levings, Jonathan Reese, Conor Mackie, TD Ierlan, and since 2022 Nicholas Ramsey and Mac Rodriguez. The team hasn't had to figure out alternate strategies for opposing FOGO domination all that much; a Friday turn-around is tough but if #8/#37 stay out that might be an emphasis in practice this week. Yale had LSMs (Michalik then Stuzin) take a few attempts, including on Yale's final goal with a minute to play when Stuzin took the faceoff and Hofstra won the clamp but turned it over with pressure from Stuzin and a Yale shorty, so we might see more of that as well. Yale also adjusted better down the stretch to not allow the Hofstra FOGO to win with the forward pop leading to fast break opportunities (as we've seen Mac R do so well this year for the Bulldogs).

Thanks for this. I would not have thought about watching that game, until you Piseno vs Brandau. That match up only is worth tuning in

[FannOLax]

...without remembering game by game I can say that Yale's been blessed for over a decade with strong performers at the X: Dylan Levings, Jonathan Reese, Conor Mackie, TD Ierlan, and since 2022 Nicholas Ramsey and Mac Rodriguez. The team hasn't had to figure out alternate strategies for opposing FOGO domination all that much; a Friday turn-around is tough but if #8/#37 stay out that might be an emphasis in practice this week. Yale had LSMs (Michalik then Stuzin) take a few attempts, including on Yale's final goal with a minute to play when Stuzin took the faceoff and Hofstra won the clamp but turned it over with pressure from Stuzin and a Yale shorty, so we might see more of that as well. Yale also adjusted better down the stretch to not allow the Hofstra FOGO to win with the forward pop leading to fast break opportunities (as we've seen Mac R do so well this year for the Bulldogs).

As an aside, during TD Ierlan's two years with Albany, Conor Mackie completely held his own, and was over 50%, against TD.

After TD, Yale has pretty much relied on a tandem approach, with Ramsey and Rodriguez complemented by Ball in 2022 (although against Harvard this year, the Bulldogs leaned very heavily on Rodri). I'll be very happy if Yale can get back to a tandem approach by the April 27th Princeton game.

[10stone5]

Full game replay is now available from Lacrosse TV,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlMk1SDWpis

[Typical Lax Dad]

...without remembering game by game I can say that Yale's been blessed for over a decade with strong performers at the X: Dylan Levings, Jonathan Reese, Conor Mackie, TD Ierlan, and since 2022 Nicholas Ramsey and Mac Rodriguez. The team hasn't had to figure out alternate strategies for opposing FOGO domination all that much; a Friday turn-around is tough but if #8/#37 stay out that might be an emphasis in practice this week. Yale had LSMs (Michalik then Stuzin) take a few attempts, including on Yale's final goal with a minute to play when Stuzin took the faceoff and Hofstra won the clamp but turned it over with pressure from Stuzin and a Yale shorty, so we might see more of that as well. Yale also adjusted better down the stretch to not allow the Hofstra FOGO to win with the forward pop leading to fast break opportunities (as we've seen Mac R do so well this year for the Bulldogs).

As an aside, during TD Ierlan's two years with Albany, Conor Mackie completely held his own, and was over 50%, against TD.

After TD, Yale has pretty much relied on a tandem approach, with Ramsey and Rodriguez complemented by Ball in 2022 (although against Harvard this year, the Bulldogs leaned very heavily on Rodri). I'll be very happy if Yale can get back to a tandem approach by the April 27th Princeton game.

Connor Mackie was vastly underrated. Something clicked 1/4 of the way into his sophomore season and he was as good as anyone after that….he absolutely outperformed TD head to head. Went from a part time face-off guy and more of an offensive middie in HS to a dominant FOGO.

[faircornell]

Brandau could surpass 100 points in regular season play
which would be astounding,

I’m don’t believe even Lyle Thompson accomplished that.

I was curious about this as well. According to the U Albany website, below are Lyle Thompson's seasons as an upperclassman at Albany:

2015: 121 points
2014: 128 points
2013: 113 points

If Brandau maintains his average from the past 5 games (8 points/game), and plays 2 regular season, 2 ILT games and 2 NCAA rounds, he'd end up with 134 points. He'd need to average 7 points per game for 6 games to tie Kyle Thomas' record. A tall order in many ways.

[Finster]

Brandau could surpass 100 points in regular season play
which would be astounding,

I’m don’t believe even Lyle Thompson accomplished that.

I was curious about this as well. According to the U Albany website, below are Lyle Thompson's seasons as an upperclassman at Albany:

2015: 121 points
2014: 128 points
2013: 113 points

If Brandau maintains his average from the past 5 games (8 points/game), and plays 2 regular season, 2 ILT games and 2 NCAA rounds, he'd end up with 134 points. He'd need to average 7 points per game for 6 games to tie Kyle Thomas' record. A tall order in many ways.

To add a little more to the above, Albany played 18 games in 2014 and 19 in 2015. Yale has played 12 games to date in 2024.