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FOXBORO, Mass. – The No. 3 Yale men’s lacrosse team earned the Ivy League's 10th NCAA title in men's lacrosse on Monday afternoon after defeating No. 4 Duke 13-11 in the National Championship at Gillette Stadium in front of 29,455 fans. The title is the first in program history for the Bulldogs.
Yale, which reached the final by routing top-seeded Albany 20-11 on Saturday, is the first Ivy League school to win the title since Princeton in 2001. The Bulldogs' victory makes them the fourth team in the past decade to win their first ever program NCAA title in lacrosse.
Matt Gaudet paced the Bulldog scoring with four goals, totaling 10 tallies over the two games during Championship Weekend. Gaudet was named the 2018 Most Outstanding Player and moves into a tie for sixth all-time for most goals in a season at Yale with 41. The sophomore buried six goals against Albany in Yale's semifinal victory, which ranks fourth all-time among NCAA leaders.
Jack Tigh notched a hat trick, all three coming in the first half. Freshman goalie Jack Starr tallied nine saves. Senior Tewaaraton finalist and two-time Ivy League Player of the Year Ben Reeves had a goal and three assists.
Yale won the championship in 1883, long before the NCAA existed. The Ivy League now holds a 10-4 edge all-time vs. the ACC in NCAA national championship games. Yale joins Princeton (6) and Cornell (3) with NCAA titles in men’s lacrosse.
Gaudet, the Most Outstanding Player of the championship, earned a spot on the All-Tournament team along with teammates Ben Reeves, Chris Fake, Jack Tigh, Jack Starr and Jackson Morrill.
Shay called Yale's first national championship a going-away present for Yale athletic director Tom Beckett, who will retire June 30 after 24 years. “He’s such an impressive guiding force for me,” Shay said. “He’s been hard on me. He’s challenged me. He’s supported me. He’s held me accountable.”
“Yale lacrosse became what they were all about,” Beckett said. “They didn't want to disappoint one another, they didn't want to disappoint the school, they didn't want to disappoint him. And that culture turned out to be something really special, and everybody then started to believe that this is the place you want to be. You want to go to Yale and play for Andy Shay. This program is extraordinary and Andy Shay is the reason why, no question.”
The third-seeded Bulldogs (17-3) scored the first three goals of the game and struck first in all four quarters while holding off the three-time national champion Blue Devils. Yale never let Duke get closer than two.
Tigh scored the first two goals of the game and picked up his third before halftime, giving Yale a 6-4 lead entering the second half.
Reeves scored his first of the game with 13:33 left in the third and added an assist on Matt Tevlin's goal 1:35 later to put the Bulldogs up 8-4. Yale needed less than two minutes to go up 9-4 when Gaudet scored from the left side of the net off a pass from Reeves while Duke was a man down because of a slashing call.
The Blue Devils won the faceoff and Guterding scored 10 seconds later, but Gaudet struck again for Yale for his 40th goal of the season, putting the Bulldogs up 10-5 Duke climbed back in it with three straight goals. Yale's Jason Alessi atoned for a penalty with a goal with 27 seconds left and Yale led 12-9 after three.
Yale was back up 12-9 after three quarters and Gaudet scored again with 8:11 left in the fourth, giving Yale enough cushion to hold off Duke's attempts to rally.