The season did not end in the way the members of the men’s lacrosse team wanted, but they still fought to the finish together as a team. The Bulldogs (7-5, 3-3 Ivy) tried to hold off a fierce comeback from Drexel (9-5) but fell to the Dragons in overtime, 10-9, at Soccer- Lacrosse Stadium April 30.
The Elis hit the ground running and built a 7-3 halftime lead on two goals each from attackmen Colin Neville ’06 and Dan Brillman ’06. But the Bulldogs only got two tallies in the second half while the Dragons surged with six goals to tie the game.
In overtime, Yoni Cohen put a 30-foot shot past Eli netminder George Carafides ’08 and secured the win for Drexel.
“We came out strong but we kind of let up,” captain DJ Barry ’05 said. “We thought they would fade out, but they didn’t, to their credit. Then they had the momentum going into OT.”
The game itself seemed to echo the Bulldogs’ season – a brilliant beginning with an explosive attack followed by struggles to finish over the long haul. After jumping out to a 7-2 start to the season, the Elis finished with a three-game losing streak that included a crushing 11-4 loss to an underdog Harvard squad April 23.
“I think it was a disappointing way to end the pretty good season we had,” said attackman Seth Goldberg ’05, who scored one goal versus the Dragons. “The last two weeks were really not the way we wanted to end the season, but I also think overall we had a very good season.”
Goldberg said the Elis’ season had surprised people around the Ivy League.
“We came together as a team and that was probably even more special than winning games,” he said. “This team was definitely unique, the chemistry was great, and everyone played for each other and for the team. When you do that it makes the season and the games more exciting and more special.”
The end to the season saw four Bulldogs receive all-Ivy honors. Goldberg, who finished with 26 goals and eight assists, was named first-team All-Ivy for the first time in his career. Last year Goldberg was named second team All-Ivy.
“It’s definitely a nice honor,” Goldberg said. “I think there are a lot of people who contributed to my success at Yale. All of my teammates worked as hard as possible to help me have success.”
Midfielder David Schecter ’06, face-off man Dan Kallaugher ’06, and long-pole midfielder Brian Mullholland ’05 all received second-team All-Ivy honors. While Barry said all four of these players deserved recognition, he added that there were Bulldogs who also should have made the All-Ivy lists.
“We obviously thought [Carafides] should have gotten something,” Barry said. “He got rookie of the week so many times. It was a shock. Brillman definitely should have got something, too.”
Brillman led the Elis in points this season with 21 goals and 18 assists while Carafides finished with 127 saves and a .534 save percentage.