5 Points from Tigh, Reeves Help Elis Take 12-6 Contest

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Bulldogs have been showing opponents all season that they can't key on All-American Ben Reeves without paying a price. They proved their point again today in the most complete victory of the season, a 12-6 win over Penn before 2,189 at Reese Stadium.

Reeves was still a presence with 2 goals and 5 points, but the No. 4 Yale men's lacrosse team (7-1, 3-0 Ivy) got goals from six different players, including 4 from Jack Tigh, on the way to its seventh straight win.

That was the most obvious of the Eli completeness on this beautiful spring New England day. Flying a little lower on the radar was the defense's limiting another talented scoring squad to a season-low in goals while freshman Jack Starr had an excellent performance and 7 different teammates forced Quaker turnovers.

"it was two really good teams going at it today," said Yale Head Coach Andy Shay. "It was a gritty performance by both teams, I'm just proud of my guys for outlasting them."

The Yale defense held Princeton to 20 shots a week ago and then limited Penn to 29 today. That was one more shot than the home team, but the Elis held off the attack at times as they protected a lead permanently acquired after Joseph Sessa (2 goals) made a nifty move to beat Reed Junkin and make it 3-2 with 4:18 left in the first quarter.

Tigh, who has 19 goals and 27 points this spring, got things started for the Elis with a lefty launch that hit the high portion of the net. After Penn answered with a pair, the junior from Garden City, N.Y., ran through two defenders to even it at 2-2. That was the first of 5 straight for the Blue to pull away.

"We had a great week of practice and it showed today with great communication on the field," said Tigh, who scored 3 unassisted goals. "Seemed like every time I touched the ball, I felt like it was a good time to dodge. We couldn't let up. They are too good to look past. We had to take every possession seriously."

The tally that put Yale up by two was Brendan Rooney (2 goals) converting a thread-the-needle pass from Reeves. Rooney caught it in traffic and fired top left corner while falling backwards. He and his teammates never looked back.

Senior FOGO Conor Mackie had another outstanding day. He won 16 of 22 faceoffs and scooped 11 ground balls. He won the ball clean on the X after the Rooney score and passed to a teammate. It ended up with Lucas Cotler, who ran in from the left side and slipped a shot inside the far post.

"Overall, it was a great team effort today," said Reeves, who leads the team with 24 goals and 42 points.

Reeves' limited angle low shot zipped past Junkin with 4:58 left in the second to increase the home lead to four goals. That came with two flags on the field to make it 6-2. Plays like that made you feel like it was a day for the Dogs.

Starr, from Washington, D.C., didn't have a big statistical day (8 saves), but he made big saves when needed. There were also a lot of close calls on shots barely off target that he deflected. Starr stole one from point-blank range off the stick of Sean Lulley midway through the fourth quarter and then won a race to gain possession on the next Penn possession.

"Our defense gave him (Lulley) just one option," said Starr. "That makes my job much easier. Penn is a great team, but we were clicking today. Our guys were doing what they were supposed to do today, playing four quarters of D and talking well. It was a great showing for our D."

BULLDOG BITES

The Elis face No. 16 Bucknell (7-3) Wednesday night at 7 at Reese Stadium. The Bison beat No. 15 Army 10-7 today at West Point… Two Yale players have brothers on other Ivy teams, including today's opponent. Ted Forst's brother, Brendan (Harvard '21) is a defenseman who will come to New Haven with the Crimson at the end of the regular season… Jared Warner (Penn '19), a midfielder, is the brother of Tyler Warner… The Yale Precision Marching Band attended today's game and played from the stands.

By Steve Conn, Yale Associate AD/Sports Publicity Director – steven.conn@yale.edu