As the saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers.” The rain held off at Franklin Field on Saturday afternoon as Penn men’s lacrosse faced Yale, but a shower of Bulldog goals drowned the Quakers in a 14-11 loss.
The defeat was the fourth straight for Penn (4-7, 1-3 Ivy), dropping the Red and Blue to 1-3 in the conference with just three weekends remaining. Meanwhile, Yale (3-5, 2-2) is now in a strong position heading into the final weeks of the regular season.
The two teams were fairly evenly matched in many statistical categories and appeared to be on level footing for stretches. However, a stretch in the first half, when Yale scored three goals in under a minute, proved to be the difference in a game Penn never led.
“It was a game of runs, we couldn’t quite close [the deficit],” coach Mike Murphy said. “Some of the momentum plays just went their way. We actually played reasonably well, faced off well [and] played pretty good offense. We just gave up some shots we don’t want to give up.”
From the opening face off, the defense on both sides was smothering, as senior goalkeeper Emmet Carroll for Penn and Yale’s counterpart Jared Paquette made good saves to deny early chances. Five minutes in, however, the scoring began, as Yale midfielder Chris Lyons found the back of the net on an extra-man opportunity. By the end of the quarter, the Bulldogs scored three more times.
The Quakers’ only goal in the first period came from senior attacker Ben Smith, who scored from close range on a man-up opportunity. Otherwise, the Penn offense seemed static, as the Quakers had to wait until late in the shot clock to find scoring.
After a difficult first quarter for the Quakers, Yale continued its strong play, as attacker David Anderson scored quickly to give the Bulldogs a 5-1 lead on its first possession. In response, the Quakers scored three goals in quick succession — making it 5-4. Junior midfielder Griffin Scane scored twice, and Smith gained his second goal. Each of these came on an extra-man opportunity. Scane ended the game with a career-high of five goals.
“[It’s] just the way [Yale was] playing defense … and where the ball ended up,” Murphy said of Scane and Smith’s offensive performance. “Truthfully, I think it speaks to the guys who are shooting well for us, those are the ones that are doing the scoring.”
For the majority of the second quarter, Penn’s deficit remained narrow as the Quaker defense forced stops — making up for the offense’s renewed struggles.
However, in the last minute before halftime, the Bulldogs scored three important goals, taking a 9-4 halftime lead. The two teams were relatively even in many statistical categories during the first half, with the Quakers holding a 25-23 shots advantage, but Yale leading 17-13 in shots on goal.
After halftime, the Quakers bounced back from a tough end to the second quarter with Scane finding the net once again.
The Bulldogs soon expanded its lead to six with a pair of goals, including one on a extra-man opportunity. Late in the quarter, the Quakers cut its deficit by a third with goals by Scane and Smith, their fourth and third of the game, respectively. With 15 minutes to play, the Bulldogs led 11-7.
The fourth quarter had a similar flow to the third. On Penn’s first possession, Paquette made a strong save, and the Bulldogs paid it off with a goal on the other end. Despite goals by sophomore attacker Chris Patterson and senior attacker Tynan Walsh, the Bulldogs maintained a five-goal lead heading into the game’s final minutes. With under two minutes left, Smith and Scane each scored again, but these proved to be mere consolation prizes as Yale was able to hold the ball to clinch a 14-11 victory.
Penn now has two more conference games against Harvard and Princeton remaining. Considering Harvard’s three-game winning streak and Princeton’s four-game streak, the Quakers face a difficult fight ahead for a spot in the tournament. Both of these games are essential for Penn to clinch a spot in the Ivy League tournament and avoid missing the postseason for the first time since 2012.
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