NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale men's lacrosse team overcame a sluggish start in its season opener last Sunday, a 20-14 win at Villanova. The Bulldogs weren't as fortunate in game No. 2. Penn State built an 8-1 first quarter lead and then held off a Yale comeback to escape with a 13-11 victory, spoiling the Bulldogs' home opener at snowy Reese Stadium.
Yale had trailed 4-1 early last week against the Wildcats.
"That's not going to be a recipe for success," said
Andy Shay, the Forst Family Head Coach of the Bulldogs of the first quarter deficits. "I challenged the guys to fight back, and they did."
By the end of the third quarter, Yale had closed to within 11-8. The Nittany Lions, though, scored the first two goals of the fourth, including one a man up by Matt Traylor with 9:32 left. Still, the Bulldogs had one more run left. Goals by
Chris Lyons, Carson Kuhl and
Matt Brandau, with 1:53 left, cut the deficit to two, but that was as close as Yale would get.
Traynor scored five goals to lead Penn State. TJ Malone added three goals and two assists.
Lyons had four goals to pace the Bulldogs, giving him 13 in two games. Kuhl and
Thomas Bragg each scored twice. Brandau finished with one goal and two assists, extending his streak of consecutive games with a goal to 42, the longest active streak in the nation.
Leo Johnson and
Nicholas Ramsey also scored.
Jared Paquette made 12 saves in goal.
Penn State (3-1) had a 42-34 edge in shots.
Kuhl's first goal less than three minutes into the game tied the score at 1-1. Penn State then scored the next seven goals to close out the first quarter.
The Bulldogs answered with the first four goals of the second quarter, but the Nittany Lions still had a 10-6 advantage at halftime.
The weather conditions made the game a challenge for both teams. A light snow fell for much of the afternoon and the temperature was in the mid-20s.
The loss snapped Yale's 15-game winning streak at Reese. The Bulldogs' last home loss came to Villanova in the 2019 home opener.
"We have to learn from this," Shay said.
Next up for the Bulldogs is trip to UMass next Saturday. The opening faceoff is set for noon.
