YALE at PENN STATE
Sat., Mar. 2 – Noon
State College, Pa.
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NEW HAVEN, Conn. – It's been a strong start to the season for the Yale men's lacrosse team. Yale is 2-0 and ranked No. 10 in the nation. The Bulldogs face their biggest challenge to date when they travel to Happy Valley to face Penn State on Saturday. The Nittany Lions are No. 4 in the USILA poll. The opening faceoff is set for noon, and B1G+ has the video.
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
 
• Yale has been off since a 21-11 victory over Colgate at UAlbany on Feb. 21. The Bulldogs trailed 4-1 late in the first quarter but scored nine straight goals over a 12-minute stretch to seize control. Yale led 13-6 at halftime and 18-7 after three quarters.
 
• It was a memorable night for Matt Brandau, who finished with a school-record 13 points (6 goals, 7 assists). Ten of his points came in the first half. Brandau fell three points shy of the NCAA Division I record held by Air Force's Bill Woolford, who had 16 against Colorado State in 1975, and was one shy of the Ivy League record set by Princeton's Michael Sowers, who had 14 points against Colgate in 2019. Brandau's six goals came on six shots.
 
• Brandau was named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week, The Lacrosse Network Player of the Week and was selected to the USILA Team of the Week.
 
• The record-breaking performance moved Brandau into second place on Yale's career assist (116) list. He trails only Ben Reeves, who had 139 assists from 2015 to 2018.
 
• Brandau leads the nation in assists per game (5.50) and points per game (9.50) and is sixth in goals per game (4.0).
 
• Defender Patrick Pisano leads the nation in caused turnovers per game (3.50). Pisano had three caused turnovers and 10 ground balls in the win over Colgate.
 
• Sophomore David Anderson is off to a strong start. Anderson, who saw limited action last year and did not score, has seven goals through two games this season. He scored three times in the opener against Villanova and added four goals in the victory over Colgate.
 
• Goalie Jared Paquette has 25 saves through two games. He is 20th in the nation in save percentage at .556.
 
• Saturday is the second of three straight games away from home for the Bulldogs, who are at Denver next Sunday (Mar. 10).
 
SCOUTING PENN STATE
 
The Nittany Lions have won three straight games since falling to Colgate in the season opener. Penn State is coming off a 13-3 win over Navy in Annapolis last Saturday. Will Peden scored a career-high four goals. Matt Traynor leads the team with 14 goals, while TJ Malone has a team-best 11 assists. Jack Fracyon has started all four games in goal and has a 9.00 goals against average and a .561 save percentage. The Nittany Lions have outscored their opponents 17-6 in the first quarter.