The Bulldogs went into the locker room at halftime with the lead, but Lafayette came back in the second half to deny Yale its first home win of the season.

Yale held a 10–7 advantage at the half, but Lafayette (4–2, 1–0 Patriot) stormed back to win 20-10 at the Yale Bowl this afternoon.

Quarterback Eric Williams ’16 threw two interceptions in the first quarter, but each time the Bulldog defense forced a punt on the ensuing Leopard drive.

Yale (1–4, 0–2 Ivy) opened the scoring 30 seconds into the second quarter when tight end Michael Leunen ’14 hauled in a 25-yard pass from Williams, then forced his way into the end zone for a 7-0 lead.

Lafayette quarterback Andrew Shoop’s 5-yard toss to fullback Greg Kessel knotted the score at seven apiece with 8:02 remaining until halftime. The Elis would retake the lead on the foot of kicker Philippe Panico ’13, who drilled a 24-yard field goal with 4:39 left in the half.

But the second half would be all Lafayette. After both teams traded punts at the start of the half, the Leopards drove 78 yards on a twelve-play drive that ended with a 10-yard Mark Ross touchdown reception.

Running back Mordecai Cargill ’13 drove the Elis forward with 21 rushing yards on the ensuing drive to set up third-and-one on the Lafayette 20, but center John Oppenheimer’s ’14 snap sailed over Williams’ head back to the 31-yard line. Panico’s try from 48 yards out had the distance but was wide right and Yale came away with no points.

After another three-and-out by the Leopard offense, Yale drove all the way to Lafayette’s 15, but Williams was intercepted by defensive back Shane Black for the second time on the day.

Yale was still within four when the defense sacked Shoop at the Yale 34 to set up fourth-and-twelve. Shoop was able to get the first down and more on the next play when he found Ross for a 32-yard pass to the Yale two. Two plays later, tailback Ross Sheuermann punched it in for the score. Defensive end Nick Daffin ’13 blocked the extra point attempt, but Lafayette had a 20-10 lead with 2:19 to go. Yale’s chances ended for the day when Williams was picked for the final time by linebacker Chris Brockman with 38 seconds remaining.

Williams threw a career-high four interceptions while his Lafayette counterpart Andrew Shoop passed for 243 yards and two touchdowns.

Running back Tyler Varga ’16 led the Bulldogs with 100 rushing yards in his return to the field. Yale had withheld Varga from last week’s 34-14 loss to Dartmouth while the NCAA investigated his eligibility following his transfer from the University of Western Ontario.

Cargill was right behind Varga, running for 98 yards on the day.

Yale will be at home for the fourth week in a row next Saturday against Penn (2-3, 2-0 Ivy).