YALE (9-5, 3-3 Ivy) at GEORGETOWN (12-3, 5-0 Big East)
NCAA Tournament First Round
Saturday, May 13 – 5 p.m.
Washington, D.C.
ESPNU Video | Live Stats | Tickets | NCAA Bracket
Yale Game Notes
 
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – In 2019, the Yale men's lacrosse team was coming off a loss in the Ivy League Tournament championship game when it opened in the NCAA Tournament. Yale met Georgetown in the first round, and a home victory over the Hoyas started a run that didn't end until the NCAA championship game in Philadelphia.
 
The 2023 Bulldogs hope to follow a similar path, although there is one difference at the start. Yale must travel to Georgetown to begin its NCAA journey. The Bulldogs and Hoyas meet on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Cooper Field in Washington, D.C. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
 
* The Bulldogs are appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time and have an 11-10 record in NCAA play. Yale has qualified for the tournament in each of the last seven seasons. Last year, Yale advanced to the quarterfinal before falling 14-10 to Princeton at Hofstra. The Bulldogs won the NCAA title in 2018 and were the runner-up in 2019, losing to Virginia 13-9 in the championship game.
 
* Yale is No. 12 in both the Inside Lacrosse and USILA coaches' poll. Georgetown is No. 4 in both polls.
 
* The Bulldogs are No. 9 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings. The Hoyas are No. 5.
 
* Yale's road to the postseason was far from easy. The Bulldogs dropped their first three Ivy League games before winning their final three, including a victory at Harvard in the regular season finale that earned them a spot in the Ivy League Tournament. Overall, Yale won six straight games before falling to Princeton in the championship game of the Ivy Tournament.
 
* The Bulldogs are one of three Ivy League teams in the NCAA Tournament field. They are joined by Cornell and Princeton, who both play on Sunday.
 
* Yale is fifth in the nation and leads the Ivy League in scoring offense (15.0 goals per game).
 
* The Bulldogs' sophomore class has combined for 135 goals. In the Ivy Tournament, 19 of Yale's 32 goals were scored by sophomores.
 
* Yale's starting attack – Matt Brandau, Chris Lyons and Leo Johnson – has combined for 192 points (129 goals, 63 assists). In the semifinal victory over Cornell at the Ivy Tournament, the three combined for 15 goals and nine assists in a 22-15 victory. In the championship game, Princeton limited the three to a combined eight points (4 goals, 4 assists).
 
* Lyons, who was named honorable mention All-America by USA Lacrosse Magazine earlier this week, has enjoyed a breakout season for the Bulldogs. He is second in the nation in goals per game (4.14) and sixth in points per game (5.0). His 58 goals are the third most in a season in school history and the most by a sophomore. Lyons also has become a deft distributor. In his first seven games this season he had only one assist, but in the last seven has had 11, including six in two games at the Ivy Tournament. Lyons scored nine goals, the most by a sophomore in a game in Yale history, in the season-opening win at Villanova and tallied seven against Brown and against Cornell in the Ivy tourney. His 94 career goals are tied for 13th in school history.
 
* Brandau, who was a USA Lacrosse Magazine third team All-American, leads the Ivy League and is 15th in the nation in assists per game (2.21) and is 18th nationally in points per game (4.64). Brandau, one of 25 nominees for the Tewaaraton Award, has had at least one point in all 54 games he has played at Yale. The 54 straight games with at least one point is the third longest active streak in the nation. He has scored at least one goal in 53 of the 54 games he has played at Yale.
 
* Brandau also continues to climb in the Yale record book. His 254 career points are second in school history, trailing only Ben Reeves, who amassed 316 points from 2015 to 2018. Brandau's 151 career goals are third all-time at Yale and his 103 career assists are also third.
 
* Johnson, an honorable mention All-Ivy selection, has at least one point in all 31 games he has played in at Yale and has scored at least one goal in all but two games.
 
* Defender Michael Alexander earned first team All-Ivy honors for the first time in his career. He has started all 14 games and is second on the team with 12 caused turnovers and also added 17 ground balls.
 
* Long stick midfielder Jack Stuzin, who earned honorable mention All-America recognition from USA Lacrosse Magazine, is 32nd in the nation and second in the Ivy League in caused turnovers per game (1.50). Stuzin also is second on the team with 37 ground balls. In two games at the Ivy League Tournament, Stuzin scored four goals, including notching a hat trick in the championship game vs. Princeton.
 
* Goalie Jared Paquette is second in the nation in saves per game at 14.57. He has stopped at least 10 shots in all 14 games, including a season-high 22 in the win at UMass. His 430 saves over two seasons are sixth all-time at Yale.
 
* The Bulldogs have a couple of local connections to Washington, D.C. Starting defenseman Jake Cohen is from Bethesda, Md., a suburb of D.C. He played at the Landon School where he earned first team all-state recognition. Brandau and Stuzin are also both from Maryland but reside closer to Baltimore.
 
YALE-GEORGETOWN HISTORY
 
The last meeting between the Bulldogs and Hoyas was the 2019 first round NCAA Tournament game when TD Ierlan set an NCAA Tourney record by winning 31 faceoffs as Yale edged Georgetown 19-16 at Reese Stadium. Matt Brandau had five points in the game for the Bulldogs. The goalie for Georgetown that day was Matt's twin brother Chris, who is now the starter at Dickinson College. Yale leads the all-time series with Georgetown 9-0. The first eight games were all played in Washington, D.C., between 1984 and 1991.
 
SCOUTING GEORGETOWN
 
The Hoyas (12-3) opened the season with three losses but have since rolled off 12 consecutive victories, including a dominant 14-5 win over Denver last Saturday in the championship game of the Big East Tournament. Yale is the third Ivy League opponent for Georgetown, which fell to Penn 9-7 in its second game of the season and beat Princeton 13-10 on Mar. 4. Tucker Dordevic, who joined the Hoyas as a grad transfer after playing four seasons at Syracuse, was named one of five finalists for the Tewaaraton Award on Thursday. He has scored 57 goals and added 13 assists on the season. Four Hoyas, including Dordevic, were selected in the Premier Lacrosse League College Draft on Tuesday night. Joining Dordevic as selections were Will Bowen, Brian Minicus and James Reilly. Georgetown has won the last five Big East titles and is making its 16th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.