DENVER – The Yale University men's lacrosse team earned its first road victory of the season on Sunday afternoon playing at Denver University for the first time. The No. 14-ranked Bulldogs got past the (rv) Pioneers, 16-13, on the strength of an 8-point day from junior attackman Matt Brandau.
 
Not only did Yale battle against Pioneers in a physical contest for 60 minutes, the Bulldogs also went up against the Mile High City altitude, a long travel trip and the first warm-weather game of the season – The Elis' previous games did not get over 40 degrees with snowstorms in two of them.
 
Undaunted, Yale struck first with two opening goals and never trailed in the game, but Denver continued to keep pace with the Bulldogs all afternoon. Brandau's five goals and three assists led the way as nine different Elis scored in the game.
 
First year Leo Johnson, the reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Week, kept his strong play going with his second-career hat trick. He put five of his six shots on goal and added a career-high three ground balls as well as a caused turnover.
 
"I give Denver a ton a credit for a very physical game. I think we felt the road trip a little bit and Denver is not an easy place to play with the altitude but clearly it didn't bother Brandau," said Head Coach Andy Shay. "I was really impressed by Matt today while our team came together to make it a grind. That is what this program is based on and these guys are proving they can play well in those games."
 
In goal, sophomore Jared Paquette ground it out with 15 saves as he faced 58 total shots from the Denver offense. The Bulldogs were also more efficient with their attack, putting 25-of-42 shots on goal and capitalized won 2-of-4 extra man opportunities.
 
In addition to Brandau and Johnson, Yale got multi-point days from senior Brian Tevlin (1G, 1A), first year Brad Sharp (1G, 1A) and junior Thomas Bragg (2 G).
 
Yale's quick start and 4-2 lead after the first quarter as well as an 8-5 advantage at the break proved pivotal as Denver's offense got going in the second half. The Pioneers made it a one-goal game at 9-8 and 10-9 in the third but Yale had answers each time.
 
The Bulldogs got goals from Logan Soelberg and Sean Kuttin in the final 200 seconds of the third quarter and Brandau added his fifth of the day less than a minute and a half into the fourth.
 
Brandau's eighth point came as he set up Sharp for the score and a three-goal lead before Yale's defense locked down for the next five minutes. Denver would get one back, but the Bulldogs scored two empty net goals in the final 1:15 to ice the game.
 
Up next, the Bulldogs cap a two-game road swing and begin Ivy League play at No. 4 Cornell on Saturday, March 19 at noon. All eight of Yale's scheduled opponents to start the year have received votes in the USILA Top-20 poll with all being ranked at one point this season.