Second half turnaround secures the win

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – In one of the most anticipated games of the 2016 season, the #7 Yale men's lacrosse team relied on stellar defense to earn an 8-5 victory over #4 Maryland. The experienced defense held the Terrapins to two goals in the second half, while the Bulldogs netted five of their own in front of a packed crowd at Reese stadium.

Senior defenseman Michael Quinn led a defense that controlled the game, especially in the second half, and limited the number of Maryland opportunities. Maryland star attackman Matt Rambo was covered constantly, and sophomore goalie Phil Huffard held his ground in the crease. Maryland outshot the Elis, 34-24, but the two teams had an equal number of scoring opportunities. Rambo had a goal and three assists on the day, but was largely silent in the second half, as a result of impressive, one-on-one coverage by Quinn and company.

The Bulldogs' offense was slow to start the game, but found its way in time to separate the two highly ranked squads.

Maryland began the contest with control of possession, and netted the first goal of the game within the first few minutes. It took less than two minutes, however, for Yale to respond. Senior midfielder Michael Keasey beat Maryland goalkeeper Kyle Bernlohr to tie the game at one.

This sequence became a theme of the first half. Twice after that the Terrapins earned a one-goal lead, and the Bulldogs came back with an equalizer. After Maryland took a 2-1 lead with five minutes left in the first quarter, the Elis again responded within two minutes. Junior midfielder Eric Scott notched his third goal of the season after a clean dodge to beat the defender, finishing between the goalie's legs.

Maryland took the lead for a third time after a goal on an extra-man opportunity early in the second quarter. This was followed by a period in which both defenses were limiting the number of goal-scoring opportunities. Midway through the second quarter, Rambo was at the point position, when Quinn made a huge check, knocking Rambo's stick to the ground and causing a turnover. This was one of the 10 caused turnovers forced by the Bulldogs on the day. 

It seemed as if the two teams would go into the half with the same 3-2 margin that had held for nearly all of the second quarter. With just seconds remaining, however, senior midfielder Mark Glicini found sophomore attackman Ben Reeves, who placed his shot just past the stick of Bernlohr to tie the game at three.

The goal, just five seconds before halftime, would prove to be a catalyst for the Bulldogs' offense. After the game, Scott noted, "We didn't have much momentum, and that gave us a spark. But we don't want to have to rely on those types of things. We want to be more steady throughout and not have to build momentum back."

Going into the half, the score was tied, but the Terrapins appeared to have the slight edge. They led 16-10 in shots, and 14-4 in groundballs. Part of their success in the first half can be attributed to their freshman faceoff man, Austin Henningsen. He was 6-for-7 on the X in the first half and 13-for-16 on the day.

Keasey said about the halftime break, "Coach told us to stick to our details and play the way that we play. We felt that we were going 'off the menu' as we like to say, and do things abnormal to our offense and defense. We just needed to string together a couple of good passes to get things going our way."

Coach Andy Shay's words appeared to have an immediate effect. The Bulldogs began the second half with a new energy, and saw results within two minutes after the start of the half. The Elis took their first lead of the game when senior attackman Michael Bonacci took a pass from Reeves, and finished in the lower left corner.

Shay had a simple diagnosis for the cause of the change in play. He explained, "We turned it over way too much in the first half, and we talked about that at halftime. It was a great defensive effort, but their faceoff guy was great, and we did not have a lot of groundballs. But we knuckled down, and the faceoff and the wing guys did the best job that they could."

The Bulldogs controlled the ball in their offensive zone more in the third quarter. They were executing noticeably better on offense, and Bernlohr had to bail out the Maryland defense on a few occasions. Defensively, the Elis were incredible, not allowing a goal in a 25-minute stretch lasting from the second quarter to late in the fourth.

Quinn said of the defensive stand, "It was nothing different than what we do every day in practice. We pride ourselves on being really tough on each other in practice. They have some really talented guys who can shoot and dodge, but we tried to play as a unit, and talk to each other. There were some places where we weren't executing as well, but Phil [Huffard] was there to help us out."

The offensive unit doubled the Bulldogs' lead late in the third. Junior attackman Jeff Cimbalista took a pass from freshman midfielder Jack Tigh in the middle of several Terrapin defenders, and finished top shelf. The Elis now led Maryland 5-3 after three quarters, with the momentum clearly in favor of the home team.

Just like the start of the second half, the Bulldogs found the net again within two minutes of the start of the fourth quarter. After a key defensive stop, senior long-stick midfielder Reilly Naton collected the ball at midfield. He realized the Terrapins were unprepared for the counterattack, and sprinted into the offensive zone. After absorbing a blow from a defender, he shot low and found the net, notching his first goal of the season, giving the Elis a 6-3 lead and the eventual game-winner.

Less than two minutes later, Michael Keasey scored his second goal of the game to make it four unanswered goals for the Bulldogs. Keasey was a member of the team when they fell to Maryland in the NCAA tournament last year. He noted, "While it was a devastating way to lose last year, we moved on, and focused only on this season. We saw some great seniors leave the field last season, so this year we were really focused on this group, and the task at hand."

Reeves found the net again late in the fourth, taking advantage of an open net after the goalkeeper was forced to help on defense outside the crease. With an 8-3 lead and only three minutes left to play, it was clear to the 3,200 fans at Reese stadium that the Bulldogs had secured the win.

The Terrapins notched two goals late, courtesy of Rambo and Colin Heacock, which raised the potential for an improbably comeback. But on the next Maryland possession, Huffard made a huge save that stifled the insurgent offense. He finished the day with six saves.

The Bulldogs ran out the remaining time on the clock, and celebrated on the field after the final whistle. They were joined by several fans standing on the sidelines, including members of the Yale football team.

Ultimately, it was the defense that gave the Bulldogs the victory. Coach Shay made this clear after the game, and said, "Andrew Baxter (defensive coordinator) and whole staff did a great job on creating a plan, and the whole team worked really hard, and they trust each other. They did everything right on the defensive side of the ball. They were attentive to the details, and it worked out for us."

While happy to earn the victory, several players remarked that they were far from perfect. Scott noted, "We started off pretty slow. Our defense played well and our defensive middies played well. But we are better than that. We have a lot more in the tank. Our offensive can do better with holding the ball, and we have things to improve on."

Looking forward, Quinn was anxious to maintain their impressive level of play. He said, "We need to keep the pedal to the medal. We beat [Maryland] last year at home, and we took our foot off the gas a little. This year, we are keeping the pedal down. Tomorrow morning, we are going to wake up and focus our attention on Bryant, and that's what we are focused on. One game at a time."

The Bulldogs (2-0, 0-0 Ivy) look to continue their strong start next Saturday at Bryant.