New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Bulldogs roll over Cornell in Ivy opener
NEW HAVEN — It’s not like last spring’s loss to Cornell in the Ivy League men’s lacrosse championship had any lingering effects on Yale’s collective psyche. The Bulldogs recovered to win four straight NCAA tournament games and a national championship.
Still, that six goal-loss to the Big Red, Yale’s worst defeat since 2014, provided some extra motivation leading into Saturday’s Ivy League opener with Cornell.
“Last year set the tone for this year,” said Yale sophomore midfielder Brian Tevlin. “They’re so talented that it’s hard not to be mentally dialed in and prepared. But losing in the Ivy final wasn’t easy. It could have ended our season for all we knew. We came in
this time with the mentality that they were coming for our heads, and we had to stop them.”
Yale was never truly threatened Saturday, steamrolling the Big Red, ranked third in the country, 16-11 in front of an overflow crowd of 2,716 at Reese Stadium. Freshman Matt Brandau led the offense with six goals and two assists while junior Matt Gaudet scored five goals.
It was the fourth straight win for the No. 4 Bulldogs since a season-opening overtime loss to Villanova, and their second victory over a team ranked in the nation’s top three. Last month Yale (4-1, 1-0) handed Penn State, now No. 1, its only loss.
“Everything just felt right today,” said Yale junior faceoff specialist T.D. Ierlan. “We came out with a sense of urgency and got back to playing like us again. Earlier in the year we were thinking things were just going to happen for us. Now, we’re making things happen.”
There was little to critique as Yale was the better team in nearly every facet of the game.
Jack Starr, the Bulldogs’ sophomore goaltender, was the star of the first period, making four of his nine saves and setting the tone for what would quickly become a frustrating afternoon for Cornell (4-2, 0-1). Yale’s lead was 3-1 after one period, largely due to Starr, whose four saves came on dangerous shots by a Cornell team averaging 16.2 goals per game, third-best in the nation.
“I’m so happy for him,” Yale coach Andy Shay said. “We know what we can get out of Jack and we think he’s been putting a lot of
pressure on himself. To his credit, he’s stuck with it and we’re happy he had a great day.”
Yale’s defense did its part lightening the load on Starr. Jeff Teat, Cornell’s star attacker, entered the game ranked fifth in the country in points per game. He managed a goal and an assist Saturday and was essentially rendered a non-factor by Yale sophomore defender Chris Fake.
A year ago in the Ivy final, Teat, guarded by Fake, was an offensive catalyst with six points.
“Chris took the matchup personally,” Shay said. “He felt the last time he defended him he didn’t play that well. He definitely wanted that cover. But we had (short-stick defenders) matched up on him, too. It was team defensive play. I was very impressed by those guys.”
Ierlan was once again dominant on the faceoff X, taking 10-of-12 in the second period and 24-of-30 for the game. It helped Yale’s offense make the most of its 46 shots against Ierlan’s younger brother, Cornell freshman goalie Chayse Ierlan.
Brandau, a high school All-American last season at the Boys Latin School of Maryland, had nine points in Yale’s previous four games before erupting for eight on Saturday. One of his goals game almost from his belly as he fired a shot past Chayse Ierlan as he was falling face-first to the ground. But he was at his best in the second half, answering Cornell goals three times with one of his own, which kept the Big Red from mounting any real comeback threat.
“I don’t look at it as a breakout game,” Brandau said. “The ball bounced my way today. Our offense did a lot of little things right. I ended up being the beneficiary of a lot of good work.”
Yale also got two goals and two assists from Tevlin, who is expected to miss the next three or four games. He was identified as a match off the national bone marrow donor registry and will undergo surgery Wednesday. All of his points came in the decisive second period.
“I started to realize it in the back of my mind that I might miss the next four games,” Tevlin said. “When I started to get tired, it gave me an extra burst to play hard and not take any easy ways out.”