NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Yale has reached the last two national championship games. It left Philadelphia last Memorial Day a few goals shy of a second straight title, and college lacrosse experts consider the Bulldogs a legit contender again in 2020 with a No. 3 pre-season ranking.
Yale has five USILA All-Americans returning this spring, including senior captain
Jackson Morrill (attack), seniors
Matt Gaudet (attack),
TD Ierlan (FO),
Aidan Hynes (defense) and junior
Chris Fake (defense). Junior midfielder
Brian Tevlin joins four (Morrill, Ierlan, Hynes, Fake) of them on the 2020 Inside Lacrosse Pre-Season All-America list.
Returning to the Bulldogs' roster are 212 of the 296 goals, all three starters on defense and three of the four goalies who saw action in 2019.
In addition to a skilled roster with plenty of postseason experience (nine NCAA Tournament contests and six Ivy League Playoff games for the seniors), the Bulldogs added a dozen first-year players, including six All-Americans and five Elis who are vying for spots on the U.S. Men's U19 Team.
Head coach
Andy Shay, the 2018 USILA Coach of the Year, has led the Bulldogs to five Ivy League Tournament championships and seven NCAA Tournament appearances. The most successful coach in the history of the Yale program and a 2019 inductee in the Upstate (N.Y.) Lacrosse Foundation Hall of Fame has a pair of new coordinators.
Ed Williams, after his first year with Yale, takes the defensive coordinator's role, and
Tom Compitello, who was an assistant for the Elis' national championship squad, returns to the program (from Lehigh) as the offensive coordinator.
2020 Roster Breakdown
ATTACK
Morrill, who established the goal and assist records for Yale juniors, led the team with 94 points and 48 assists last season and is one of the premier setup men in the college game. Gaudet is one of the nation's top inside offensive weapons. His 51 goals were a school junior class record a year after he earned most outstanding player at the 2018 national championship weekend. The Elis also had one of the top newcomers in the country last spring in
Matt Brandau, who notched a Yale rookie record 50 goals (including 12 in the NCAAs) and 74 points. The returning attackmen backing up this group last spring could contribute in many ways. That includes junior
Chris Hladczuk, who was voted the Bulldogs' most improved player, and senior
Colin Courtney, who returns from a season-long injury and could bounce back as an impact player. There is also sophomore
Brady McDermott, who might end up at midfield. In addition, Yale also has rookie
Skyler Wilson, who scored 46 goals for an undefeated Salisbury School team last spring.
MIDFIELD
Senior
Lucas Cotler had 16 goals, including four against Penn in the national quarterfinal, and 26 points and has the most experience among the midfielders. He and Tevlin (14-21-35) were among the team's top 10 in offensive production for 2019. Tevlin, who missed two games in 2019 to donate marrow, was the 2019 One Love Foundation Unsung Hero. Junior
Christian Cropp (8-3-11) could run on the top two lines. Sophomore
Sean Kuttin (6 gb) also saw regular action last year. A bunch of Bulldogs are fighting for time on the second line, including senior
Sam Selati, junior
Will Cabrera and sophomores
Greg Gatto, Thomas Bragg and
Kyle Zawadzki. The Elis also have four first-years to add to the mix.
Patrick Hackler (Skaneateles) and
Jack Monfort (Syosset) were U.S. Lacrosse All-Americans, while California native
Logan Soelberg (Crespi) was a two-time Under Armour All-American. Salisbury's
Griffin Wilson, who missed 2019 with an injury, is another rookie middie.
SSDM
Senior
Will Renz (11 gb), sophomore
Jack Ocken (11 gb) and juniors
Luke Eschbach (16 gb) and
Steven Reilly were short sticks who saw time last year.
Jake Wornow and
Elliot Sawyer-Kaplan return with experience, while
Korbin Pecora, an all-league pick at Canterbury School last spring, will also compete for a spot.
DEFENSE
Fake, a two-time All-American and the 2018 Ivy Rookie of the Year, started all 19 games last season and had 26 ground balls with 13 caused turnovers. Decorated seniors
Aidan Hynes (30 gb, 24 ct), a USILA Warrior & New Balance All-America honorable mention in 2019, and two-time All-New England selection
Will Weitzel (22 gb, 11 ct) were also starters at close defense in 2019. Senior
Brian Ward (10 gb) and sophomore
Bryce De Muth (6 gb, 4 ct) saw regular action during the 15-win campaign. Junior
Griffin Thomas and sophomores
Jack Biestek and
Konrad Collins will also compete for playing time along with some talented newcomers who were all trying out for Team USA. All-Americans
Michael Alexander (West Islip),
BJ Burlace (St. Mary's) and
Brett Mallee (LaSalle College) and Gillman School standout
Xander Martin will improve Yale's defensive depth. Weitzel, Ward, Burlace, Biestek and Mallee could play LSM.
GOAL
Jack Starr, a junior, is a two-year starter who started in goal in both national championship games and was a 2018 NCAA Championship Weekend all-tournament pick. Two of his backups return with experience. Senior
Brody Wilson, who has earned wins in all four of his career starts, and sophomore
Miles Leniw each played in three games in 2019. The Elis also have first-year
Jared Paquette, an honorable mention All-America pick at West Islip High School.
FOGO
Ierlan, the most prolific faceoff man in the history of collegiate lacrosse, owns all the school, league and NCAA records associated with his craft after winning better than 75-percent on the X with 293 ground balls. He was a 2019 Tewaaraton Award Finalist who will get another shot in 2020. Sophomore
Joe Neuman had 51 faceoffs as a rookie and won better than 70-percent with 24 ground balls and is expected to contribute more this year. Newcomer
Nicholas Ramsey joins the group after earning all-state honors at The Hun School of Princeton.
SCHEDULE
Yale, after scrimmages at Syracuse this Sunday and at home against Fairfield on Feb. 8, opens the 2020 campaign at Villanova on Feb. 15, the first of five straight games on the road to start the season. That includes a matchup with Michigan in Costa Mesa, Calif., on March 7. The Ivy League opener is a week later at Cornell on March 14, while the first contest at Reese Stadium is March 21 against Princeton. Based on last year's classic meetings in the regular and postseason, matchups on Feb. 22 (at Penn State) and March 28 (Penn) are set to primetime viewing. The Elis have six home games, including the regular-season finale against Harvard on April 25.
TICKETS
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