Brandau scores in 43rd straight game, notches 200th career point
Game Recap: 3/3/2023 Tim Bennett
AMHERST, Mass. – Yale's response to its first loss of the season was quite impressive. Chris Lyons scored five goals and Jared Paquette made 22 saves as the Bulldogs, ranked No. 11 in the USILA Coaches' Poll and No. 13 by Inside Lacrosse, rolled to an 18-9 victory over UMass at Garber Field.
Yale was quick to put last Saturday's 13-11 loss to Penn State in its rear-view mirror. The Bulldogs fired 55 shots at UMass goalie Matt Knote and outscored the Minutemen 16-6 over the final three quarters.
"I'm proud of the boys for bouncing back," said Andy Shay, the Forst Family Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "We haven't won a ton of games in Amherst and our guys knew that. I was pleased with our effort today."
The game was originally scheduled for Saturday but was moved due to an impending storm in Western Massachusetts.
Friday afternoon lacrosse seemed to suit Yale just fine as nine different Bulldogs scored. Matt Brandau had four goals and four assists. He extended his streak of consecutive games with a goal to 43 and also notched the 200th point of his outstanding career. Leo Johnson and Johnny Keib both scored twice, and Brad Sharp, Carson Kuhl, Thomas Bragg, Jack Stuzinand Patrick Hackler all added one goal.
Lyons, who entered the afternoon leading the nation in goals per game, now has 18 in three games.
The Bulldogs outshot UMass 55-44 and were 14-of-16 on clears.
Yale (2-1) trailed 3-2 after 15 minutes but outscored UMass 7-2 in the second quarter. Brandau's 200th point came when he scored with 9:48 left in the second, part of a six-goal Bulldog run. Brandau capped the quarter with a goal with just eight seconds remaining.
The Bulldogs kept the heat on the Minutemen in the third. Stuzin and Brandau scored a little more than a minute apart early in the period, and Johnson's goal with one second left gave Yale a commanding 14-7 lead.
UMass (2-2) would get no closer in the fourth quarter.
It was Yale's first win in Amherst since 2018. The two teams played an overtime game last year in New Haven with Brandau scoring with 39 seconds left to lift Yale to a 13-12 win.
The Bulldogs are back home next Saturday to host Denver at 11:30 a.m. at Reese Stadium.