Yale 2023

[Olderbarndog]

That game was definitely a dismantling !

Impressive day for Yale. A number of those UM emo goals were down 2. Tough day for my Gorillas. Early on, all about the A-10 from here on out.

[The Orfling]

Was jumping around on replays of various games and saw Yale alum Joe Neuman, a grad transfer to Rutgers at FOGO, scoring his first ever collegiate goal! Congratulations to Joe. Meanwhile, grad transfers Tevlin and Fake are tearing it up for ND. Happy for all of them.

[FannOLax]

Was jumping around on replays of various games and saw Yale alum Joe Neuman, a grad transfer to Rutgers at FOGO, scoring his first ever collegiate goal! Congratulations to Joe. Meanwhile, grad transfers Tevlin and Fake are tearing it up for ND. Happy for all of them.

Yes, especially happy for Joe Neuman. Tevlin had two goals and two caused turnovers yesterday in Notre Dame's 3OT win over Maryland.

For the current Yale players, Denver is next. Bill Tierney returns to Reese. Denver is 3-2 this year, having beaten North Carolina 9-8 yesterday in Chapel Hill. It would be great if Yale can both win and hold the Pios to under 10 goals. After Denver, it's on to the conference schedule.

[Farfromgeneva]

Just curious if Brody Coleman is getting any run? Can’t tell much from box scores. Was my sons second pick for our fantasy team and didn’t expect him to run first line but maybe some SSDM and occasional O mid, he’s physical and athletic.

[10stone5]

That game was definitely a dismantling !

Impressive day for Yale. A number of those UM emo goals were down 2. Tough day for my Gorillas. Early on, all about the A-10 from here on out.

Matt Knote kept them in the game early, but no way he could keep that up,

how many shots did he face, 50-60 ?
That’s like getting machine gunned.
Same problem Villanova had, no way to keep up with
that pace.

[Ice1570]

Just curious if Brody Coleman is getting any run? Can’t tell much from box scores. Was my sons second pick for our fantasy team and didn’t expect him to run first line but maybe some SSDM and occasional O mid, he’s physical and athletic.

No. At least not yet

[Mid-Lax]

Yale's game versus Penn State's Zone defense and the Yale man-up offense have been troubling to me. I was watching the Georgetown-Princeton game and some of the fast ball movement (a combined 4-9) resulting in tic-tac-toe goals. It just seems to me that in attacking the zone, the Bulldogs have a handful of issues: 1) extra cradle(s) extra steps (allow the defense to adjust), 2) slow unsure ball movement (goes with 1), needs to be sped up, 3) failure to tighten the attack formation (unless Bragg, just too far for an effective shot), 4) failure to initiate the rotation properly (because the defense stays wells positioned), 5) failure to execute the proper skip pass (or reverse direction). How do they fix these? There is one main root cause: Yale man-up has to execute crisp passes, minimal/no steps or cradling; ball has to zip around. The rest of the issues will correct themselves. Fast-crisp, fast-crisp, and so on. Easy (so I say)?

[FannOLax]

YDN on UMass-Yale and the team generally. https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2023/03/ ... s-amherst/
Interesting note on Paquette's saves per game leading the country.

The 11th-ranked Yale men’s lacrosse team (2–1, 0–0 Ivy) trounced the University of Massachusetts Amherst (2–2, 0–0 A10) with a score of 18–9 on Friday.

After falling to No. 8 Penn State University 13–11 the weekend prior, the Bulldogs came into the weekend feeling they had something to prove, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

“The biggest focus for the team heading into the UMass game was responding from our loss the week before with the added knowledge that every time we play UMass, they play us extremely tough,” defenseman Bryce De Muth ’23 said. “Defensively, we had given up seven goals in the first quarter against Villanova and eight in the first quarter against Penn State, which we took personally, and so we made putting together a full 60 minutes of focus a priority.”

That focus certainly paid off for the Bulldogs, as they stymied the Minutemen offense all afternoon and held their opponent to a single-digit goal total for the first time this season.

The defense was helped by another strong performance from goalie Jared Paquette ’24, who made 22 saves. Paquette currently averages more than 17 saves per game, which is best in the nation, and holds a .598 save percentage, the fourth-best mark in the country.

The offense also recovered from its tough day against Penn State to post 18 goals and 55 shots to keep consistent pressure on the UMass goal.

“I’m proud of the boys for bouncing back,” head coach Andy Shay said to Yale Athletics. “We haven’t won a ton of games in Amherst, and our guys knew that. I was pleased with our effort today.”

As has been the case for much of the past two seasons, the offense was driven by the outstanding play of senior attackman Matt Brandau ’23. Brandau posted four goals and four assists against the Minutemen, pushing his total to over 200 career points, a mark only three other Bulldogs have ever reached. Now sitting at 207 points in his storied career, Brandau ranks third on the all-time list for the Elis.

Brandau will continue his chase to move up in the Yale record books, as Jackson Morrill ’20 sits second all-time with 220 points. Ben Reeves ’18 MED ’24 — Yale’s only Tewaaraton Award winner, given to the best player in college lacrosse — holds the top spot with 316 career points.

With nine regular season games remaining, in addition to the possibility of Ivy League and NCAA Tournament games, the record is not unreachable for the senior from Maryland, and he believes he’s put in the work in the offseason to have his best season yet.

“There’s the Yale method of training that likes to, well I can’t give away too much of the secret sauce,” Brandau said to Inside Lacrosse. “I was able to get some real heavy lifting in and tune my workouts to better prepare to be in lacrosse shape versus how I’ve been in the past.”

Brandau has scored at least one goal in every one of the 43 games he has played in for the Bulldogs.

[FannOLax]

Snow tomorrow morning after an overnight mix of rain and snow... just perfect for an 11:30 AM start time.

[wgdsr]

YDN on UMass-Yale and the team generally. https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2023/03/ ... s-amherst/
Interesting note on Paquette's saves per game leading the country.

The 11th-ranked Yale men’s lacrosse team (2–1, 0–0 Ivy) trounced the University of Massachusetts Amherst (2–2, 0–0 A10) with a score of 18–9 on Friday.

After falling to No. 8 Penn State University 13–11 the weekend prior, the Bulldogs came into the weekend feeling they had something to prove, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

“The biggest focus for the team heading into the UMass game was responding from our loss the week before with the added knowledge that every time we play UMass, they play us extremely tough,” defenseman Bryce De Muth ’23 said. “Defensively, we had given up seven goals in the first quarter against Villanova and eight in the first quarter against Penn State, which we took personally, and so we made putting together a full 60 minutes of focus a priority.”

That focus certainly paid off for the Bulldogs, as they stymied the Minutemen offense all afternoon and held their opponent to a single-digit goal total for the first time this season.

The defense was helped by another strong performance from goalie Jared Paquette ’24, who made 22 saves. Paquette currently averages more than 17 saves per game, which is best in the nation, and holds a .598 save percentage, the fourth-best mark in the country.

The offense also recovered from its tough day against Penn State to post 18 goals and 55 shots to keep consistent pressure on the UMass goal.

“I’m proud of the boys for bouncing back,” head coach Andy Shay said to Yale Athletics. “We haven’t won a ton of games in Amherst, and our guys knew that. I was pleased with our effort today.”

As has been the case for much of the past two seasons, the offense was driven by the outstanding play of senior attackman Matt Brandau ’23. Brandau posted four goals and four assists against the Minutemen, pushing his total to over 200 career points, a mark only three other Bulldogs have ever reached. Now sitting at 207 points in his storied career, Brandau ranks third on the all-time list for the Elis.

Brandau will continue his chase to move up in the Yale record books, as Jackson Morrill ’20 sits second all-time with 220 points. Ben Reeves ’18 MED ’24 — Yale’s only Tewaaraton Award winner, given to the best player in college lacrosse — holds the top spot with 316 career points.

With nine regular season games remaining, in addition to the possibility of Ivy League and NCAA Tournament games, the record is not unreachable for the senior from Maryland, and he believes he’s put in the work in the offseason to have his best season yet.

“There’s the Yale method of training that likes to, well I can’t give away too much of the secret sauce,” Brandau said to Inside Lacrosse. “I was able to get some real heavy lifting in and tune my workouts to better prepare to be in lacrosse shape versus how I’ve been in the past.”

Brandau has scored at least one goal in every one of the 43 games he has played in for the Bulldogs.

he's 109 points away with 9 regular season games remaining and he's within reach?!?!? that'd be one pretty good run. brandau's excellent. anyone have an idea if he's going to finagle another year in new haven?

[FannOLax]

Brandau has scored at least one goal in every one of the 43 games he has played in for the Bulldogs.


he's 109 points away with 9 regular season games remaining and he's within reach?!?!? that'd be one pretty good run. brandau's excellent. anyone have an idea if he's going to finagle another year in new haven?

Yes, he took fall semester off with the idea of playing for Yale both this season and next. A bunch of his teammates did something similar.

[The Orfling]

Should be a good game today -- hopefully the weather does not inhibit good play over much. A few thoughts:

• Yale won by 3 last year -- overcoming a 33% showing at face-off with big offensive days by Matt Brandau and Leo Johnson;

• This year Denver is averaging about 11 goals a game and giving up 9.

• Yale seems like it would have the offensive edge, both at attack and midfield, but will have to overcome a disadvantage at face-off (Denver's excellent FOGO, Stathakis, is having a good year and last year won 60% of his face-offs against Yale's #1 FOGO);

• Denver clears well (86%); of the two teams Yale seems to have a better ride (opponents in the high 60% clear range vs Denver with an opponent clear success rate in the low 80% range);

• Denver has two goalies who have seen meaningful minutes, senior Jack Thompson and junior Malcolm Kleban; the team's combined save percentage is under 50% although Kleban is coming off a good game against UNC. I'd expect to see Kleban start but if Denver thinks he isn't seeing the ball well we could see Thompson.

• One area of possible vulnerability for Denver's overall good defense is their man-down defense; Yale is only 1 for 9 this year on EMO but perhaps this game is a good opportunity to get the EMO on track.

I think Yale has the edge overall but with a reasonable likelihood of a significant disparity at the face-off X, it will be all the more important for Yale not to get itself down early and have to dig out of a hole when possessions are uneven. Obviously the meta story is playing Denver in Tierney's last season, but here's hoping the result is similar to 2022.

[The Orfling]

Good first half. Yale scrapping to try to steal a few possessions on faceoffs, as Stathakis for Denver is overall dominant; Denver with a good game plan on Yale’s attackmen, so 5 of Yale’s 7 goals have come from the midfield; aggressive defense by Yale for 7 caused turnovers in the first half; Paquette heating up; good clearing; taking good care of the ball.

Places to improve: haven’t scored yet on EMO; wish the shorties would be a bit more patient in the settled D — they are running to press out and getting beaten cleanly on the dodge; need to watch the penalties—have had 2 unreleasables which combined with a good opposing FOGO can turn a game around quickly.

[The Orfling]

Good first half. Yale scrapping to try to steal a few possessions on faceoffs, as Stathakis for Denver is overall dominant; Denver with a good game plan on Yale’s attackmen, so 5 of Yale’s 7 goals have come from the midfield; aggressive defense by Yale for 7 caused turnovers in the first half; Paquette heating up; good clearing; taking good care of the ball.

Places to improve: haven’t scored yet on EMO; wish the shorties would be a bit more patient in the settled D — they are running to press out and getting beaten cleanly on the dodge; need to watch the penalties—have had 2 unreleasables which combined with a good opposing FOGO can turn a game around quickly.

Good win! Great job by the players and coaches, especially in a game in which Denver had the decided face-off advantage. Nice to have back to back games with the opponent held to single digits. Kudos to so many players, including:

• Jared Paquette, who came up huge -- again -- with double digit saves at 59% save percentage on the day;

• Mac Rodriguez, for winning 4 of 8 faceoffs against Stathakis in support of Nicholas Ramsey, who battled hard;

• Bryce De Muth and Mikey Alexander, with strong fundamental defense (particularly in a third quarter in which Denver was held scoreless);

• Jack Stuzin, for 5 ground balls, helping Yale come up virtually even in GBs (22 to 23 for Denver) even though Denver won two-thirds of the faceoffs -- Stuzin also had 2 caused turnovers;

• Brad Sharp for his first hat trick of the season -- great to see him using his speed and dodging ability to put pressure on the defense;

• Max Krevsky for his most productive scoring day as a Bulldog -- two goals and an assist, and he was a major part of Yale's good start in the game (huge -- don't want to get behind a team that dominates at face-off);

• Old Reliable Matt Brandau for a hat trick and two assists on a day when Denver keyed on the Yale attack;

• Patrick Hackler for a great transition goal in the fourth quarter -- Yale's 11th goal -- which turned out to be an important one as Denver rallied late;

• Thomas Bragg for one of the prettiest interceptions (diving) I've seen during the fourth quarter -- an example of how on a day when he wasn't notching goals he was still contributing in other ways.

Because I'll always be a coach at heart, I can't help but throw in a little constructive criticism: would LOVE to see Yale figure out EMO; 0 for 5 on the day and not a lot of good looks. In a 4th quarter in which the game became uncomfortably close (Yale outscored 4-1), even converting one of the two 4th quarter EMO opportunities could have made a real difference.

Bottom line: a very well-played and well-deserved win against a team coming off a win over a strong UNC squad.

[FannOLax]

Thank you, Orfling, for the thorough and accurate analysis. And over on the Ivy board, Orfling picked Yale by 2 over Denver. On a very tough day for the Ivy League, Yale held serve. Week by week, the Elis' loss to Penn State is looking less and less bad. A couple of first-years saw action today for the Bulldogs, which is good.

Congratulations to Andy Shay for notching two consecutive wins over Bill Tierney. Maybe he wouldn't say so publicly, but Andy has gotta feel good about that. Not much time to rest on laurels though, with Cornell coming to town next weekend.

[The Orfling]

Cross-posting from the Ivy League thread -- bottom line is that I REALLY worry about penalties and the lack of EMO success in a game like this against an (on paper) evenly matched opponent -- man-down goals against and lack of EMO goals for were a big part of the Penn State result.

Yale vs. Cornell, Tale of the Tape for Saturday's 12 noon game in New Haven:

• Yale averaging approximately 15 goals per game/allowing an average 11 goals per game; Cornell averaging 12 goals per game on offense, approximately 9 goals per game on defense;

• Yale shooting percentage 33.5%, opponents 26%; Cornell shooting percentage 27.5%, opponents 23%;

• Yale clearing percentage 84%, opponent clearing percentage 72%; Cornell clearing percentage 91%, opponent clearing percentage 81%;

• Yale averaging 13 turnovers per game, Cornell averaging 17 turnovers per game;

• Yale averaging 5.25 penalties per game, about 4:45 minutes per game, Cornell averaging 2.4 penalties per game, about 1:30 minutes per game

• Yale EMO 7% (1 for 11), opponent EMO 47%, Cornell EMO 43%, opponent EMO 33%;

• Yale face-off percentage 46%, Cornell face-off percentage 43%;

• Yale's starting goalie, 59.6% save percentage, Cornell's starting goalie, 57%.

From a Yale perspective, they can win if they (a) get a possession advantage on the faceoffs (possible but up in the air -- neither team dominant at face-off); (b) create some transition opportunities off the ride (a tough ask against a team clearing 91%); (c) create some transition opportunities off of saves (Yale's goalie Paquette clears quickly but Cornell's defense recovers well); and (d) limit the number of penalties they draw, given Cornell's EMO success and Yale's man-down-defense struggles.

From a Cornell perspective, they'll do best if they limit Yale's transition opportunities (clear well and recover quickly after Yale saves); have a good to excellent day at the X; and feast on EMO if Yale can't limit the penalties (jacked up crowd at Reese could work to Cornell's advantage in this one area).

Two good teams: this one could go either way (as was the case last year when Cornell won in the regular season and Yale got its revenge in the ILT).

[FannOLax]

Weather forecasts for Saturday have turned decidedly better: low chance of precipitation with temperatures edging into the 50's.

Yale's defense was rightly questioned pre-season and early season; but it has looked better the past two games. If this defensive improvement continues and Paquette has another strong game, I like Yale's chances. Cornell has terrific fans who turn out in numbers for games in New Haven (and in Columbia's stadium for the ILT), and the Big Red has a very good team with an excellent young head coach. I'm expecting a close game, a big crowd and a game worthy of kicking off Ivy League conference play.

[The Orfling]

Ugh. After a good start, a particularly ugly stretch here with 8 straight Cornell goals. Cornell moving the ball well, getting a step to get hands-free shots, placing the ball well, #28 in the goal not having his usual stellar showing (which has bailed out the Elis in some other games this year). A chance to turn things around with 2-man up EMO went nowhere and Yale lost the ball on an offsides. And after a good early start on faceoffs Cornell has switched it up to Petrakis and is rolling. This Yale team doesn't quit but, to to put it mildly, going down 6 to a good defensive team like Cornell, without a faceoff advantage, is not where you want to be at the end of 1.

[The Orfling]

As the old plaque memorializing "Easy Ed" McCarthy '65 in then-Lapham Field house read: "Well Coach, some days you got it, some days you don't."

This was one of the "you don't" days. Yale was thoroughly outplayed by a Cornell team hitting on all cylinders. I'm sure the team and coaching staff will be back at it preparing for Princeton, looking to get back to .500 in the Ivy League. Congrats to the Big Red on the dominant win and good luck to Yale as they look to have a good week of practice.

[Lax3]

Sorry to say this but there is something missing from the Yale lacrosse culture right now. I know that is heresy but this team – like last year’s team – just gives up bunches and bunches of goals without ever being able to stop the other team’s runs. They also just do not seem ready to play early which is a sign of not being ready mentally. I think they had given up eight goals in the first quarter alone … which is insanely bad. I am just not impressed by their ability to counter runs and slow things down when the opponent goes on a run.

Technically … Adler shut down Brandau and Paquette was a mess for the first time all year.

Gonna learn a lot about this team in the next week, but I am not as optimistic as I have been in the past.