ITHACA, N.Y. – A strong third quarter lifted the second-seeded Princeton men's lacrosse team to a 14-10 victory over No. 3 Yale in the semifinals of the Ivy League Tournament at Schoellkopf Field.
Matt Brandau had four points to lead the Bulldogs, including the 198th goal of his outstanding career, making him the all-time Ivy League leader.
Yale falls to 11-4 on the season, while the Tigers are 10-4.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
In addition to his goal, Brandau tallied three assists.
Max Krevsky,
Carson Kuhl and
Cole Cashion each scored once. Krevsky also had an assist. Goalie
Jared Paquette made 16 saves.
Chad Palumbo scored five goals to pace Princeton, while Michael Gianforcaro stopped 16 shots in goal.
TURNING POINT
The score was tied 5-5 at halftime, but the Tigers outscored the Bulldogs 6-2 in the third quarter. Yale closed to within 11-10 on Krevsky's goal with 7:28 left in the fourth quarter, but Princeton answered with the next three goals to seal the victory.
FACEOFF BATTLES
Yale's faceoff specialists valiantly played through injuries, but Princeton finished winning 20-of-28 faceoffs, helping the Tigers to a 37-25 edge in ground balls.
KEY STAT
Princeton was 3-of-4 in extra man opportunities. Yale was 0-for-2.
NOTES
• Brandau's record-setting goal came with 4:04 left in the first quarter. He broke the mark previously held by Brown's Dylan Molloy.
• Brandau has 101 points (44 goals, 57 assists) on the season,
• The Tigers had a slight 43-39 edge in shots.
• The two teams were playing for the second straight time. Princeton won 15-8 last Saturday at Reese Stadium in the regular season finale.
• First team All-Ivy defender
Patrick Pisano led the Bulldogs with four ground balls.
Patrick Hackler and
Jack Ocken each contributed two caused turnovers.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bulldogs will learn if they have earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament when the field is announced on Sunday night at 9:30 p.m. The selection show will be televised on ESPN2. Yale entered the weekend No. 10 in the RPI and has four victories over ranked opponents on its resume, including a 15-13 win at Denver, which was ranked No. 1 at the time.
