Men's Lacrosse

No. 3 Yale Men's Lacrosse Advances to National Championship Game

FOXBORO, Mass. – The No. 3 Yale men’s lacrosse team advanced to the NCAA National Championship game with a statement 20-11 win over No. 2 Albany on Saturday afternoon at Gillette Stadium. The Bulldogs will face Duke and Maryland on Monday for the NCAA title.

The Bulldogs (16-3), who were playing in only their second final four and first since 1990, will play No. 4 seed Duke (15-3) on Monday at 1 p.m. The Blue Devils knocked off defending national champion and top-seeded Maryland, 13-8, in the second semifinal.
 
Yale’s win moves the Ivy League’s all-time record in the Final Four to 16-10 overall. The League holds a 9-6 record in National Championship game appearances. It will be the first title game showing for Yale. Monday’s championship game will be televised live on ESPN2 and the ESPN app.

Yale was powered by its starting attack that combined for 14 goals and nine assists. Senior Tewaaraton Award finalist Ben Reeves led all scorers with nine points on five goals and four assists, sophomore Jackson Morrill added three goals and five assists, and sophomore Matt Gaudet scored six goals on eight shots. Connor Mackie was 15-for-32 in face-offs on the afternoon.

Yale sprinted to a 4-0 advantage in the first 3:34 to force an Albany timeout, but Yale was unrelenting, scoring three straight goals and chasing redshirt senior goalkeeper and first-team All-American JD Colarusso from the game with 4:34 left in the first quarter. Despite winning only five of nine faceoffs in that frame, the Bulldogs corralled 13 of 16 ground balls and outshot the Great Danes, 11-6.

The Great Danes attempted a comeback in the second quarter, scoring three straight and four of the period’s first six goals. But the Bulldogs regained the upper hand with three goals to close out the half, including a rocket from Morrill with 0.9 seconds left.

Yale took 45 shots to Albany’s 30 and picked up 31 ground balls to the Great Danes’ 21. Albany also committed 14 turnovers compared to the Bulldogs’ seven. 

Yale returns to Gillette Stadium on Memorial Day to take on No. 4 Duke with a national championship on the line. The game is set for 1 p.m. and will be televised live on ESPN2 and ESPN app.