DENVER at YALE
Sat., Mar. 11 – 11:30 a.m.
Reese Stadium
ESPN+ Video | Live Stats | Tickets
 
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale men's lacrosse team faces another stiff test in its final game before the start of Ivy League play when the University of Denver visits Reese Stadium on Saturday. The opening faceoff is slated for 11:30 a.m.
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
 
* The Bulldogs are No. 9 in the USILA national poll and sit at No. 11 in Inside Lacrosse's poll.
 
* Yale (2-1) is coming off an impressive 18-9 win at UMass last Friday. Chris Lyons scored five goals and goalie Jared Paquette made 22 saves to lead the way. Trailing 3-2 after the first quarter, the Bulldogs outscored UMass 7-2 in the second to seize control. Nine different Bulldogs scored, including Matt Brandau, who had four goals and four assists.
 
* Lyons and Paquette are both national leaders. Lyons, who was added to the 2023 Tewaaraton Award Watch List on Thursday, is the NCAA leader in goals per game (6.0). Lyons has scored 18 goals in three games. Paquette tops the nation in saves per game (17.33) and is fourth in save percentage (.598).
 
* Against UMass, Brandau extended his streak of consecutive games with a goal to 43, the longest streak in the nation, and also notched the 200th point of his outstanding career.
 
* The Bulldogs are fourth in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 16.33 goals per game.
 
*  Yale has been outscored 18-7 in the first quarter but has a big edge in the remaining three quarters – 18-7 in the second, 14-5 in the third and 10-6 in the fourth.
 
*  Yale and Denver are playing for only the third time. The Bulldogs won each of the previous two meetings – 16-13 last year in Colorado and 10-9 in overtime in 2005 at Reese Stadium. Brandau had eight points to lead the attack in last year's win.
 
* The Bulldogs host Cornell in the Ivy opener on Mar. 18. The Big Red, who host Penn State on Saturday, is 4-0 and ranked No. 3 in both national polls.
 
SCOUTING DENVER
 
The Pioneers (3-2) are ranked 19th in both polls. They are coming off a 9-8 victory at North Carolina last Saturday. Denver's Alec Stathakis is 14th in the nation in face-off winning percentage (.658). Noah Manning and JJ Sillstrop lead the Pioneers with 10 goals apiece. Malcolm Lleban (8.50 goals against average) and Jack Thompson (10.11 GAA) have both seen time in goal. Denver head coach Bill Tierney will be retiring at the end of the season after 39 years as a head coach. Tierney has amassed 432 wins during his outstanding career and won a record seven NCAA Championships. Prior to Denver, Tierney spent 22 seasons as the head coach at Princeton.