No. 12 Penn men’s lacrosse entered the matchup as the sole undefeated team in Ivy League play. No. 10 Yale entered the same game undefeated at home. In the battle between two Ancient Eight teams who both took down No. 1 seeds this year, one team’s perfect record was destined to fall.
Penn was unable to repeat the previous week’s heroics as the team fell to Yale 12-9, ending the team’s undefeated streak in conference play.
In last week’s double overtime win against then-No. 7 Cornell, Penn (7-4, 3-1 Ivy) proved that it was a battle-tested team that could deal with adversity even when down late. Against Yale (7-2, 3-1), the Quakers once again found themselves relying on this grit as the team went down by multiple goals on three separate occasions.
The Bulldogs came out of the gates hot, scoring the first two goals of the game. The Red and Blue were unable to capitalize on a man-up opportunity during this same frame of play, with the team’s first goal of the game not coming until nearly seven minutes into the game off the stick of sophomore midfielder Griffin Scane.
Scane’s goal seemed to be the spark needed to get the Penn offense going. Four minutes later, senior midfielder James Shipley scored his first goal of the game to tie things up at two apiece. However, the team’s failure to consistently win the faceoff cost the Quakers as Yale was able to score on back-to-back possessions to give the Bulldogs another two-goal lead.
Penn controlled the first half of the second quarter, going on a 3-0 run that saw junior attacker Ben Smith score two goals to give the Quakers their first lead of the game. That lead lasted just one minute and three seconds before Yale went on a four-goal run to give the Bulldogs a comfortable three-goal lead heading into the halftime break.
A huge reason for the Bulldogs' success on offense can be attributed to senior attacker Matt Brandau. Brandau currently leads the nation in points per game and entered the matchup three goals shy of tying the Yale program all-time scoring record. Brandau’s first goal of the game didn’t come until midway through the second period, but after that, he caught fire. Brandau finished the game with a game-high three goals, officially making him tied with Ben Reeves as an all-time top scorer in Yale program history.
Yale’s biggest lead of the game came early in the fourth quarter after attacker David Anderson’s second goal of the game gave the Bulldogs a five-point lead. With the team’s situation looking dire, senior goalkeeper Emmet Carroll did his best to keep the Quakers alive. After having a mediocre first three periods by the reigning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year’s standard, Carroll came alive in the fourth quarter, finishing the game with 16 saves — one shy of his career game high.
Unfortunately, Carroll’s stand in the cage was all for nought as the Quakers uncharacteristically struggled in clearing the ball on the day, completing just 13 out of 19 of the team’s clears. After a goal from junior defender Tyler Kuehl — his first career goal — cut the lead to just three with over six minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Yale defense stiffened. The Quakers were unable to see the ball into the back of the net for the remainder of the game, capping off a disappointing performance for the Red and Blue.
Ultimately, Penn’s failure to consistently take advantage of its possessions by conceding unforced turnovers and failing to cleanly clear the ball spelled disaster for the team against Yale's high octane offense. Junior attacker Tynan Walsh and Penn’s current point leader on the season was held to just one assist as the team struggled to break through the Bulldog defense.
With no more undefeated teams left in the Ivy League, the path to the postseason became slightly more complicated for the Quakers. With the target number of wins to ensure a postseason appearance set at four, Penn will now have to pick up a win in one of its last two games. And to ensure a share of the regular season crown, the Red and Blue will have to close out the regular season with two straight wins — no easy feat, considering five out of eight teams in the conference are currently ranked nationally.
Penn men’s lacrosse will be looking to secure that fourth win as the team travels back to Philadelphia for its penultimate home game to take on Harvard on April 13 at 1 p.m. on Franklin Field.
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