Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse | 3/16/2024
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The Yale men's lacrosse team continued its excellent run to start the season with a 17-15 win over No. 12 Harvard on Saturday afternoon at Reese Stadium. Just one week after toppling then-No. 1 Denver, the Bulldogs started hot against the undefeated Crimson and held off a run from the visitors in the second half to pick up the victory in their Ivy opener.
Yale built a seven-goal lead at halftime, but the Crimson battled back to cut the lead down to two. The Bulldogs held strong in the fourth quarter, protecting its lead and earning the conference victory.
With the win, the Elis improved to 4-1 overall, while Harvard falls to 6-1 this season.
Wire to Wire
Yale scored just 10 seconds into the game and never conceded the lead.
Kuhl and the Gang
Junior Carson Kuhl led the Bulldogs with a career-high four goals. Teammates Johnny Keib and Thomas Bragg recorded hat tricks, while David Anderson and Patrick Hackler added two goals each. Logan Soelberg, Jack Stuzin, and Cole Cashion also found the back of the net for the Elis.
Brandau's Eight
Matt Brandau tied the Yale single-game assists record with eight. The senior matched Matt Gibson (2012) and Jason O'Neill for the most helpers in a game.
Starting Hot
Both teams came out firing out of the gates, scoring a combined 11 goals in the opening 15 minutes. But it was the hosts who came away with the 8-3 advantage at the end of the first frame. Kuhl tallied a hat trick within the initial 5:58 and Brandau added seven of his eight assists in the first half.
Buckling Down
After taking a 13-6 lead into halftime, the Bulldogs hit a bit of a lull in the third quarter. Harvard ended the frame on a 5-1 run and cut the Yale lead to 14-12 early in the fourth. But the Elis scored back-to-back goals to put the game out of reach.
Top Play
After Harvard cut the deficit to two goals in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs were operating with a man down. Noticing that the Crimson goalie was out of the net, Hackler heaved a shot from well beyond midfield into the empty net to regain the three-goal advantage and the momentum for the hosts.
Quoting Shay
"I'm proud the guys played hard and finished it out," said Andy Shay, the Forst Family Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "It was a tough game and both teams played hard. It was a great college lacrosse game to watch and I'm glad we came away with the victory."
Game Notes
Yale extends their win streak against the Crimson to five dating back to 2017.
Machado Rodriguez was fantastic on faceoffs for the Bulldogs, winning 24-of-34.
Patrick Pisano caused three turnovers.
Jared Paquette made nine saves in goal for Yale. Harvard goalie Christian Barnard made an incredible 19 saves.