Bulldogs reach Final Four
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Yale didn’t have much of a reputation in men’s lacrosse when Andy Shay was hired as coach in 2003.
There were only three NCAA tournament appearances in program history, which included a 1990 trip to the national semifinals. But all came within a fouryear span that ended in 1992.
In time the Bulldogs would become postseason regulars under Shay, this spring marking its sixth trip to the NCAA tournament in the past seven seasons. Still, despite all its recent success, it had only one tournament win to show.
In the wake of Saturday’s historic victory, Yale has officially made the sport’s grand stage.
Yale’s All-American attacker Ben Reeves had three goals and three assists in the Bulldogs’ 8-5 victory over Loyola (Md.), an NCAA quarterfinal game played under a steady downpour at Hofstra’s
James M. Shuart Stadium.
The Bulldogs (15-3) advanced to the Final Four at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. They’ll play Albany next Saturday at either noon or 2:30 p.m. with a spot in the national championship game at stake.
Shay, an assistant at UMass prior to his arrival at Yale, said the achievement brought back memories of earlier teams in New Haven.
“Every year, every moment has built to this point,” Shay said. “The guys that suffered through some seasons that weren’t like this had a lot to do with this. I can show my staff practice plans from 15 years ago that look a lot like these. We’ve tweaked some things. But by and large, even when we weren’t this good we were laying a foundation for these guys. It’s been a long process.”
Much of the focus from those outside the program had been on Yale’s inability to get past the first round the past three seasons. But with a deep and talented senior class — six of the 10 were drafted by Major League Lacrosse — expectations were substantial when the season began in February.
A week earlier in New Haven, the Bulldogs broke the first-round hex, disposing of UMass to set up its date with Loyola.
The game featured two of the nation’s best attackers. Yale had Reeves, a three-time All-American and finalist for the Tewaaraton Award as the top player in NCAA lacrosse. Loyola’s main weapon was junior Pat Spencer, already the Patriot League’s career scoring leader.
Reeves scored the game’s first two goals. Yale would never trail.
“A guy like Reeves, even if you have a great day he’s going to get a couple of chances you wish you had back,” said Foster Huggins, Loyola’s All-American defender. “It’s tough. He’s big, strong, quick, athletic and can shoot. He’s a tough player to defend.”
Loyola would tie the game at 2-2, and again at 3-3 with 3:30 remaining in the first quarter.
But Reeves set up John Daniggelis’ goal with 1:50 left in the first, a lead Yale never relinquished. With 30 seconds to go, his assist on Jack Tigh’s goal, which made the score 5-3, was his 100th point of the season, breaking the Bulldogs’ single-season record of 99 set by Jason O’Neill in 1990.
What had the makings of a wild shootout quickly became a defensive battle. The teams combined for only four goals over the remaining three quarters. Loyola (13-4) scored only once in the second half, a shot that bounced off the turf and over the shoulder of Yale freshman goalie Jack Starr with 4:15 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Starr made only one save in the fourth, but it staved off a last-ditch comeback by Loyola. Yale turned the ball over in its own territory, leading to a shot from close range. Starr knocked it away and the Bulldogs regained possession.
Reeves sealed the victory a little over 2 minutes later, catching a feed from Jackson Morrill (three assists) and burying his third goal of the game. Reeves leads the nation with 102 points.
“It’s a great feeling and it has a lot to do with our senior leadership,” Starr said. “We’re not stopping here. We’re not thinking of this as ‘great, we got here.’ We need to immediately flip the page. One of the first things we said after the game was OK, one more week of lacrosse; one more week to play with each other.”