NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Yale University men's lacrosse earned a big-time victory on Saturday afternoon at Reese Stadium as the No. 11 Bulldogs downed No. 3 Princeton, 14-12. Junior Matt Brandau had his second eight-point game in his last three contests to lead the Elis.
 
Yale faced a 4-2 deficit after the first quarter but scored five-straight goals out of the break to take control. Princeton fought their way back in, tying it at 9- and 10-all in the third and 11-all three minutes into the final period.
 
It was Brandau who had the answer with a goal less than 90 seconds later that put Yale up for good while senior captain Brian Tevlin came up with the clutch caused turnover in the final seconds to end the game.
 
"It was a grind. We knew it was going to be a tough game and we gutted it out. I'm pretty proud of guys today," said head coach Andy Shay. "We are getting great leadership from our older guys which are allowing our younger ones to be contributing players."
 
Brandau led the charge with five goals and three assists but younger Bulldogs followed the lead and stepped up as well as first years accounted for the nine other goals. Rookie Chris Lyons had his second-straight hat trick, first years Leo Johnson and Carson Kuhl scored twice and rookies Brad Sharp and Johnny Keib each netted goals.
 
Sophomore Jared Paquette set a career-high with 19 saves as he faced 52 shots from the Tigers. The Bulldog defense also caused a season-high 13 turnovers with Tevlin, senior Chris Fake, junior Bryce De Muth and first year Jake Cohen each forcing two.
 
The Yale offense put forth a season-best 54 shots in the contest while holding a Princeton team to just 12 goals after they had scored 21 last Saturday against Penn.
 
The Bulldogs now cap a two-game homestand and continue Ivy League play against the No. 7 Quakers, next Saturday, April 2, at 3:30 p.m.