Bulldogs Take Grind Out of Greyhounds

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y.  – The offense was on fire in the first half, and the Bulldog defense took control in the second, enabling the Yale Men's Lacrosse Team to punch its first ticket to the NCAA Championship Weekend in 28 years.

The No. 3 seeded Elis (15-3), who never trailed in today's 8-5 NCAA Quarterfinal win over Loyola at Hofstra during a heavy rainstorm, broke open a 3-3 game in the second quarter with 3 consecutive goals and never looked back.

Ben Reeves had 3 goals and 6 points, John Daniggelis scored twice and Jackson Morrill added 3 assists while Jack Starr turned aside 9 shots to earn the victory in net.

"It's surreal at this point," said Yale Head Coach Andy Shay when asked how it felt to be victorious today. "We are excited to play another week. We are excited to see what next week brings."

Next week brings Albany (15-13 winner over Denver) on Saturday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., in the NCAA Semifinals.

The Yale defense, which held Loyola (13-4) to its lowest goal total this year and the lowest in the NCAA Tournament since 1989, took over in the second half, causing 5 turnovers, including 3 failed clears caused by a hungry Bulldog ride.

"They [Yale] did a really good job of getting to spots and putting pressure on us," said Loyola Head Coach Charlie Toomey. "They continued to keep grinding. They are very similar to us, a team that grinds. Physical offensively and defensively. We knew they were going to play us tough physically, and they took us out of our grind."

A battle of Tewaaraton Award finalists highlighted a first half that included 10 of the game's 13 goals. Junior Pat Spencer had a hand on 3 of Loyola's 4 goals, but Reeves hit the net twice and assisted on 3 others to allow the Bulldogs to take a 6-4 lead into halftime.

Yale jumped out to a 2-0 lead following consecutive faceoff wins by Conor Mackie, who ended up taking 12 of 17 attempts. Morrill cut around the back of the net and found Reeves on the doorstep for an easy deposit 39 seconds into the game.

Mackie won his second faceoff in a row and Reeves fired a bouncer off Greyhound goalie Jacob Stover (19 saves) and then grabbed the ball off the turf and flicked it home at 12:49 for a 2-0 advantage.

After the Greyhounds answered with two straight, the Elis got the ball back with a chance to grab another lead. The Patriot League Champions doubled Morrill, so the sophomore attackman dished it to Brian Tevlin, who launched the ball top shelf at 7:55.

Loyola answered again and the Bulldogs countered. This time Reeves ran out from behind the net and fed Daniggelis with a nifty skip pass and a 4-3 lead.

The Yale captain, who already owns the school career records for points and goals, wasn't done yet. With time running out on the first half, Reeves zipped a pass to Jack Tigh, who ripped a shot past Stover with 30 seconds left. The assist marked the 100^th point of the season for Yale's two-time All-American, who eclipsed the record single-season record set by Jason O'Neill in 1990. More importantly, the pass enabled the Elis to take a two-goal lead into the break.

Starr, who had 6 of his saves in the first half, and the Yale defense turned it up a notch from there. The rookie goalie made a great stop on a John Duffy bounce shot early in third, which led to the Elis' third straight tally.

"You hope to make saves that turn the game," said Starr. "The defense made plays the whole game and made it easier for me. They [Loyola] had a great offense, but I'm glad we had the energy and executed."

Reeves slid through a double team and came out to the side of the cage before dishing to Matt Gaudet, who made it 6-3 with 11:02 left in the third. A few minutes later, Starr made a challenging save on Spencer from 8 feet away, snatching the ball out of the air.

The Elis, who were winning most of the small battles and taking away opportunities for Loyola, kept the Greyhounds off the board in the third quarter, while Daniggelis notched Yale's only score. The junior midfielder ran out from behind the goal, faked high and shot low for a 7-4 lead with 7:04 left.

Yale had numerous chances to increase the lead but Stover was in the way. He made 4 of his 19 saves with the Elis looking for a 4-goal margin. "We were trying to tell our guys to shoot low, I don't know how much the weather played a factor, but the kid [Stover] had 19 saves. That is incredible," said Shay.

Fortunately for the Blue, Starr was ready for the big moment as well. He made another big save to sustain the margin.

When Duffy scored the Greyhounds' first goal since the second quarter with 4:15 left in the game, it was time for Yale to run out the clock before Morrill and Reeves connected on a tally with 1:29 left to put the game away.

BULLDOG BITES

Ben Reeves, who was named Capital One Player of the Game by ESPNU, now has 56 goals and 102 points this spring… The last Ivy team to play in the NCAA Championship Weekend was Brown in 2015...The last Ivy team to reach the final was Cornell in 2009... The last Ivy team to win a national championship was Princeton in 2001... The last time Yale played a game at Shuart Stadium was 4.29.95 in a one-goal loss to Hofstra… A familiar, friendly face welcomed to the team to yesterday's practice at Hofstra. Brandon Mangan '14, who played on the last Eli team to make the NCAA quarterfinals, is an assistant coach with the Hofstra men's lacrosse team.

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