ITHACA, N.Y. – The No. 9 Yale men's lacrosse team (No. 3 seed) fell to No. 2 Princeton (No. 2 seed), 12-10 in the Ivy League Tournament semifinals on Friday night at Schoellkopf Field.
The Bulldogs built a 6-2 lead early in the second quarter behind a fast start from
Connor Gately and a balanced first-half attack, but Princeton closed the half with three straight goals and then scored the first four goals of the third quarter to take control and did not look back the rest of the way.
With the loss, Yale dropped to 9-5, and Princeton improved to 12-2.
Notable Performances
- Gately paced Yale with three goals, scoring twice in the opening quarter and adding another early in the second.
- Dylan Blekicki finished with two goals and one assist for a three-point night.
- Luke Pascal scored twice, including a fourth quarter goal that pulled Yale within two late.
- Cole Cashion tallied a goal and an assist and added two caused turnovers.
- Sean Grogan registered two assists.
- Peter Moynihan and David Anderson each scored.
- Ben Friedman made 17 saves in goal.
Scoring Summary
- Q1 | Princeton opened the scoring at 10:55, but Gately answered shortly after and then struck again with 3:10 left in the quarter. Pascal followed off a Grogan feed to make it 3-1, and after Princeton scored, Cashion answered with 12 seconds left to give Yale a two-goal edge. 4-2 YALE
- Q2 | Gately completed his hat trick at 12:11, and Blekicki scored off a Cashion feed 50 seconds later to push Yale's lead to 6-2. Princeton then responded with three straight goals to pull within one at halftime. 6-5 YALE
- Q3 | The Tigers continued to push the pace into the second half, knotting the game at the 11:22 mark and then adding three more scores to take a three-goal advantage (9-6). Blekicki stopped the run with 4:05 left in the frame, but the Tigers took a two-goal lead into the fourth. 9-7 PRINCETON
- Q4 | Anderson scored man-up off a Grogan assist just 14 seconds into the fourth to bring Yale within one, but the Tigers responded with two consecutive goals (11-8). Pascal cut the deficit to 11-10 with 3:48 remaining, but Princeton responded to restore the three-goal cushion with 1:26 to go and held on for the win. 12-10 PRINCETON
Bulldog Notes
- Gately and Grogan have recorded at least one point in every game for Yale this season.
- Gately posted his seventh game with two or more goals this season.
- Blekicki registered his second straight multi-goal game and sixth of the season.
- Pascal tallied his sixth multi-goal performance of the year.
- Friedman has made double-digit saves in 10 games this season.
Up Next
The NCAA Tournament selection show is scheduled for Sunday, May 3 at 9:30 p.m. The Bulldogs, currently holding an RPI of 12, will wait to see if they earn an at-large bid.
