SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The No. 11 Yale men's lacrosse team gave No. 8 Syracuse (the No. 6 seed) all it could handle, falling 16–15 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday evening at the JMA Wireless Dome.
The Bulldogs trailed by two early, answered with a strong second-quarter push and took an 8-6 lead into halftime. Syracuse responded with seven goals in the third quarter, including four in the final 3:10 of the frame, and then held off a late Yale charge after the Bulldogs scored three times in the final 5:39.
With the loss, Yale closed a memorable season at 9-6. Syracuse improved to 12-5 and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Notable Performances
Scoring Summary
- Q1 | Syracuse scored twice in the opening 2:04 before Pascal and Jackson answered to tie the game at two. The Orange, though, added a late goal to take a one-goal advantage after one. 3-2 SYRACUSE
- Q2 | Cashion tied the game at three early in the quarter, and after the Orange moved ahead 6-4, Yale closed the half with four straight goals. Jackson, Moynihan, Pisano, and Moynihan again scored during the run to send the Bulldogs into halftime with a two-goal lead. 8-6 YALE
- Q3 | Syracuse scored the first three goals of the second half to retake the lead, 9-8. Yale answered with goals from Pascal and Blekicki to move back in front, 10-9, but the Orange scored four of the final five goals of the quarter, including two in the final 35 seconds. 13-11 SYRACUSE
- Q4 | Cashion opened the fourth quarter scoring to pull Yale within one. Syracuse then scored to pull Yale within one. Syracuse then scored three straight to build a 16-12 advantage with six minutes remaining. The Bulldogs battled back as Grogan scored, Blekicki followed off a Grogan feed, and Grogan struck again with 1:17 left, but the Orange held on in the final minute. 16-15 SYRACUSE
Bulldog Notes
- Grogan and Gately recorded at least one point in every game this season.
- Cashion posted his fourth multi-goal game of the season.
- Moynihan tallied his eighth multi-point performance of the season.
- Pascal registered his seventh multi-goal game of the year.
- Blekicki notched his seventh multi-goal performance this season.
- Friedman finished with six saves and closed the season with double-digit save performances in 10 games.
- Sheehan scored his fifth man-up goal of the season.
- Yale went 15-for-17 on clears and converted one of two extra-man opportunities.
- Grogan wrapped up a stellar first season with 30 goals, 21 assists, and 51 points.
- Gately concluded a remarkable sophomore campaign leading the team in assists (32), and points (57).
- Pisano ended a strong Yale career with 59 caused turnovers and 117 ground balls.
