HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Another memorable season for the Yale men's lacrosse team came to an end in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. No. 5 seed Princeton outscored the Bulldogs 4-2 in the second quarter en route to a hard-fought 14-10 victory on a warm and humid afternoon at Stuart Stadium on Hofstra's campus.
 
First year Brad Sharp scored three goals to lead Yale's offense, while sophomore goalie Jared Paquette was outstanding, finishing with a season high 20 saves, including 15 in the first half.
 
"Congratulations to Princeton. It's hard not to be impressed with how well they played," said Andy Shay, Forst Family Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "I wished them luck next weekend.
 
"It was emotional in our locker room after the game as we thanked our seniors. The job they did leading this team was just incredible. They restored our culture after a two-year break."
 
The Tigers, ranked No. 9 in the nation, scored first, but Yale answered with the next three, including Sharp's first of the day with 10:06 left that gave the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead.
 
Princeton, though, scored the final three goals of the first quarter and the first four of the second to gain control.
 
Goals from first year Chris Lyons, senior Christian Cropp and an early third quarter tally from Sharp pulled Yale back within 8-6. Yale could get no closer than two the remainder of the way.
 
Both teams had 46 shots in the game.
 
Lyons finished with a pair of goals for the Bulldogs. Junior Matt Brandau, Cropp, first year Max Krevsky, sophomore Patrick Hackler and junior Thomas Bragg each had one.
 
Yale finishes the season with a 12-5 overall record. The Bulldogs earned a share of the Ivy League regular season championship and posted wins over seven nationally ranked opponents.
 
Paquette ends the year with 226 saves, the third most in a single season in school history. Brandau, who also had an assist, finishes with 99 points, which ties with Jason O'Neill (1990) for second in a season all-time at Yale.
 
The future seems quite bright as well. The Elis are the nation's youngest team with 14 underclassmen in the rotation and more than 100 goals scored by first-year players, the most in the country.
 
"Our goal as a program is to overachieve, and I think we did that this season," Shay said.