Bulldogs clinch spot in Ivy tourney
NEW HAVEN — It may have been Senior Day for the Yale men’s lacrosse team on Saturday at Reese Stadium. But this was hardly an obligatory nod to a graduating player in his final Ivy League home game.
Hoyt Crance got the call late in the first half for Yale. Starting goalie Jack Starr was struggling against Brown. Andy Shay needed Crance, the backup goalie who hasn’t seen meaningful minutes in some time, to stem the tide.
It turned into an inspiration 33 minutes. Crance made six saves and kept Brown at bay in the fourth quarter when Yale’s vaunted offense stalled. The Bulldogs’ 17-12 victory clinched a berth in the Ivy League tournament for the 10th successive season.
“The last couple of years haven’t really bounced my way,” Crance said. “I was glad I could give something back to my team.”
Earlier this week, Shay spoke glowingly of seniors who’ve been buried on the depth chart but consistently bring the fire to compete daily at practice. Crance, a native of Newport Beach, California, started six games as a freshman including a key win against Brown to get Yale into the Ivy League tournament and an NCAA tournament game against Navy.
The starting job went to other players each of the past three seasons. Crance’s minutes were limited to sporadic handfuls, mostly with the game already well in hand.
But when Brown scored with 3 minutes remaining in the first half to cut Yale’s lead to 9-8, Shay made a change. Starr, a two-year starter who was in goal for the Bulldogs national championship run, was called to the sideline in favor of Crance.
“Jack wasn’t seeing the ball, I think he knew that,” Shay said. “Hoyt Crance, on Senior Day, saved us. He’s such a good kid who’s worked really hard. I’ll get emotional talking about him. It’s a storybook, for him to do that. He’s awesome.”
Crance was at his best in the closing minutes. Yale (8-2, 4-1), the nation’s No. 5 team, saw its lead trimmed to 15-12 early in the fourth quarter. Suddenly unable to put the ball in the opposing net, the Bulldogs would use a relentless 10-man ride and first-rate goaltending.
Among Crance’s stops were two with Brown on the doorstep and another stolen from mid-air that kept the Bears from retaining possession.
“Jack Starr is an incredible goalie and everyone has their bad days,” said Yale junior Matt Gaudet, whose five goals included the 100th of his career. “He probably works the hardest every single practice. He’s loud and a leader out there. I was so proud to see him do well.”
Yale took an 11-8 lead into halftime on goals by Jackson Morrill (four goals, two assists) and faceoff specialist T.D. Ierlan in the closing minute. It would then score four of the six goals in the third quarter to take what seemed like a commanding 15-10 advantage into the fourth.
But an unsportsmanlike penalty against Gaudet as the team’s ran off the field after the third quarter horn nearly undid the Bulldogs. Brown scored 23 seconds later, adding another with 11:41 remaining and Gaudet benched for the penalty.
Gaudet would finally re-enter the game late in the fourth. He said the penalty wasn’t for anything he said, but for his actions.
“I looked at their bench and clapped right in their face,” Gaudet said. “It was a selfish play. But it was an emotional game. I was knocked unconscious in this game last year. Whenever they got in my face, I wasn’t letting it go. But I need to improve on that. I misrepresented the program and deserved to be benched for that.”
Yale forced Brown into 13 turnovers in the second half, seven in the fourth quarter, to help keep the three-goal advantage. In the final minute, senior Joey Sessa (two goals, three assists) put the game away by splitting a pair of defenders and scoring on an empty net.
There’d be one more Senior Day moment. Thomas Duran, an attacker hampered by a knee injury most of the past two seasons, took a feed from Brian Tevlin and scored his second career goal — first in over a year.
Duran, at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, was used mainly as a dodger until getting injured as a sophomore. Late in the game Yale felt he could reprise the role until he found himself with no one around.
“He was open inside and you saw the bench go crazy,” Shay said. “That tells you how much those guys mean to everybody on this team. Guys went nuts.”