Bryant Holds On For 9-7 Win
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – At times the game had
the feeling of an intense men's lacrosse league rivalry in front of
a big crowd on a classic New England night. The Yale Bulldogs are
glad it was only the last non-league game of the year. Max
Weisbenberg had three goals and one assist and Andy Hennessey won
12 of 19 face-offs as visiting Bryant upset the No. 9 Elis 9-7
before 987 at Reese Stadium.
Bryant (9-5), which dominated the possessions and hounded Yale's
offense, never trailed in the first meeting of the two Bulldog
squads. The Bulldogs from Rhode Island ended Yale's win streak at
five games with great goaltending by Jameson Love, who had eight
saves and a number of key stops while the Elis were on the comeback
trail.
Yale (9-3) got a pair of goals from Gregory
Mahony and a goal each from five other players on a night when
nothing was clicking for more than a moment. Senior Max Rodman
fought valiantly on every face-off, but could not help his Bulldogs
retain enough possessions.
Both teams had 27 ground balls, though Yale had more shots
(27-23) and fewer turnovers (13-20). However, three or four of the
Blue's lost balls came at key times with a comeback in sight.
“We lost focus on our opponent. Bryant was very focused
and took it to us,” said Yale head coach Andy Shay.
“They [Bryant] played great defensively and were very
physical on the ball.”
The Elis trailed 8-3 midway through the third before tallying
four of the last five goals to make it close. Bryant did a great
job of running out the clock and forcing desperate defensive
measures. Shay's team repeatedly forced turnovers and opportunities
to begin a run that just would not materialize.
“It was a never-ending cycle. They had long possessions
and it ate away at us,” said Shay. “We just didn't have
the ball enough.”
Mahony, who got his 16th and 17th goals of
the year, had two in a row that closed the gap to three goals at
the start of the fourth.
“They have an unconventional defense, one we haven't seen
before. It took a while to get used to it,” said Mahoney.
“Once you get in a hole, it's only natural to have
individuals trying to do too much rather than play as a team. We
started to work as a team, but it was too little, too
late.”
Johnathan
Falcone, Yale's junior goalie, did not make a stop in the first
quarter and finished with four saves on the cold night. He got his
body on a few quality chances that would have decided the game
earlier had they found the net.
Michael
Pratt led the Blue with five ground balls and helped ignite the
transition game a few times when his squad really needed a lift.
The only problem was that once Yale managed to get to the cage,
Love was making big stops.
The two teams traded the first four goals before Bryant broke
open a 2-2 game with three straight and six of the next seven.
The Elis end the 2010 regular season with an Ivy League showdown
against Harvard (winners over Princeton today) next Saturday at 1
p.m. at Reese Stadium. That contest could determine one of the four
spots for the league post-season tournament.
Story and photo filed by Steve Conn, Yale Sports Publicity
Director
