Yale at Villanova
Sun., Feb. 19 – Noon
Villanova, Pa.
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NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A new season kicks off for the Yale men's lacrosse team on Sunday. And once again expectations are high for a Yale program that has been to the NCAA Tournament every season since 2015, including winning a national championship in 2018 and returning to the championship game a year later. The first test of 2023 will be a challenge. The Bulldogs face a Villanova team coming off a season-opening 14-12 win over Penn State. The opening faceoff at Villanova Stadium is slated for noon.
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
 
*  The Bulldogs are No. 5 in this week's Inside Lacrosse national poll, one of three Ivy League teams ranked in the top five. Cornell is No. 2 and Princeton is No. 4. Six of the seven Ivy teams are ranked in the top 20. Penn is No. 10, Harvard is No. 17 and Brown is No. 20.
 
*  Yale was picked third in the Ivy League preseason media poll, released on Jan. 31. Cornell, which received 11 of 14 first-place votes, is the preseason favorite followed by Princeton. The top four finishers in the regular season advance to the Ivy League Tournament, which will be held at Columbia on May 5-7. The Bulldogs are the only school to have qualified for the Ivy Tournament in all 10 years of its existence.
 
*  Three Bulldogs were selected to USA Lacrosse Magazine's Preseason All-America Team. Matt Brandau was named to the first team, while Leo Johnson and Brad Sharp were honorable mention selections.
 
* Brandau was named to the 2023 Tewaaraton Award Watch list. The Tewaaraton Award honors the top college lacrosse player in the United States.
 
* Brandau has scored at least one goal in all 40 games he has played at Yale, the longest active streak in the nation.
 
*  Goalie Jared Paquette is coming off a strong rookie season that saw him make 226 saves, the third most in a single season in school history.
 
* Andy Shay, who begins his 19th season as the Forst Family Head Coach of the Bulldogs, is the winningest coach in school history with 168 victories.
 
* Last year on a snowy day at Reese Stadium, Brandau scored five goals and added an assist as Yale edged the Wildcats 17-14. The Bulldogs outscored Villanova 9-1 in the third quarter.
 
*  Yale finished last season with a 12-5 overall record and earned a share of the Ivy League regular season championship. The Bulldogs were 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.
 
SCOUTING VILLANOVA
 
Fifth-year goalie Will Vitton made 18 saves, while fellow graduate students Matt Campbell and Patrick Daly both scored four goals as the Wildcats edged Penn State at Villanova Stadium last Sunday. Campbell, who joins Brandau on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List, is Villanova's fourth all-time leading scorer with 121 career goals. Senior faceoff specialist Justin Coppola is tied for second in school history with 444 career faceoff wins. Villanova, which finished 9-6 a year ago and reached the championship game of the Big East Tournament, was picked third in this year's Big East Preseason Coaches' Poll. Georgetown is the league favorite. Denver, which visits Reese Stadium on Mar. 11, was selected second.

Another talented @YaleLacrosse team will make a run at another national championship! Senior Matt Brandau leads the 5th ranked Bulldogs in to their season opener this weekend at Villanova @WTNH @YaleAthletics pic.twitter.com/tnQHnHznew

— John Pierson (@JPPierson) February 16, 2023

The @YaleLacrosse team opens the season on Sunday at Villanova. Great to chat with Andy Shay tonight about his team as they practiced near @joetsai1999 fieldhouse. @YaleAthletics pic.twitter.com/V7vhMIhySG

— Erik Dobratz (@Erikd25) February 15, 2023