YALE at HARVARD
Sat., Apr. 29 – Noon
Cambridge, Mass.
TV: NESN
ESPN+ Video | Live Stats
 
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The final game of the regular season has important implications for the Yale men's lacrosse team. A victory at Harvard on Saturday earns the Bulldogs the No. 4 seed in the Ivy League Tournament next weekend at Columbia. The Crimson face the same scenario – win and Harvard is the No. 4 seed. The opening faceoff is set for noon, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and televised by NESN.
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
 
* The Bulldogs (7-4, 2-3 Ivy) have won four straight games, outscoring their opponents 68-41 during the streak.
 
* Yale is coming off its top defensive performance of the season, holding UAlbany to six goals in a 14-6 victory in Upstate New York last Friday.
 
* The Bulldogs are ranked No. 13 in this week's USILA national coaches' poll and No. 16 by Inside Lacrosse.
 
* In the NCAA RPI, Yale sits at No. 8.
 
* Cornell, Princeton and Penn have already clinched spots in the Ivy Tournament. The winner of Saturday's Cornell-Princeton game will be the regular season league champion and the No. 1 seed. The tournament gets under way next Friday night at Columbia's Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium. The No. 1 seed plays the No. 4 seed at 6 p.m. followed by No. 2 vs. No. 3 at 8:30 p.m. Both games will be televised on ESPNU.
 
* Yale's starting attack – Chris Lyons, Matt Brandau and Leo Johnson – have combined for 101 goals, 47 assists and 148 points. Lyons, who leads the team with 46 goals, is second in the nation in goals per game (4.18). He had a nine-goal game in the season-opening win over Villanova and scored seven times in the victory over Brown. Brandau, who leads the team with 23 assists, is 15th nationally in assists per game, while Johnson is in the top 10 in the Ivy League in both goals per game (8th, 2.36) and assists per game. (8th, 1.64).
 
* Lyons and Johnson, both sophomores, each reached 100 career points recently. Lyons did it last week when he scored his fifth goal of the night in the fourth quarter in the victory over Albany. Johnson reached the milestone a week earlier against Brown with an assist on a Brandau goal in the third quarter.
 
* Johnson has had at least one point in all 28 games he has played at Yale and has scored at least one goal in all but two games.
 
* Brandau, who is one of 25 nominees for the Tewaaraton Award, is among Yale's all-time leaders in scoring. His 241 career points are second in school history, his 146 goals are third and his 95 assists are third.
 
* Brandau has scored at least one point in all 51 games he has played at Yale. He has the third longest active point scoring streak in the nation. Brandau also has scored at least one goal in all but one of his 51 games.
 
* Sophomore goalie Jared Paquette leads the Ivy League and is sixth nationally in saves per game (14.18). He has made at least 10 saves in all 11 games, including a season-high 22 in the victory at UMass. His 382 career saves are eighth all-time at Yale.
 
* Jack Stuzin continues to lead the Ivy League with 20 caused turnovers.
 
* The Bulldogs are 10th in the nation and second in the league in scoring offense (14.91).
 
* After scoring only one man-up goal in its first five games, Yale has scored 10 in its last six games.
 
* Last year at Reese Stadium, the Bulldogs earned a share of the Ivy League title with a thrilling 17-16 overtime victory against Harvard. Thomas Bragg scored the game-winning goal with 2:16 left in the extra period. Leo Johnson had tied the score with less than two minutes left. Brandau had six points in the game. Yale's last trip to Cambridge came in 2019, a 22-11 victory. The Bulldogs have won three straight over the Crimson.
 
SCOUTING HARVARD
 
The Crimson (5-6, 2-3 Ivy) has dropped two straight games, including 17-11 at Princeton last Saturday. Harvard's two Ivy wins have come against Cornell and Brown. The Crimson leads the league in caused turnovers and is fifth in the nation. Sam King leads the team in goals (27), assists (24) and points (51). Teddy Malone has 18 goals and six assists. Christian Barnard has started all 11 games in goal and has a 13.28 goals against average.