Yale Daily News

The No. 7 Elis (4–2, 1–1 Ivy) will face No. 5 University of Pennsylvania (4–2, 1–1) at Reese Stadium in New Haven on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. for their third conference contest. 

Last Saturday, the Blue and White won their first Ivy game against No. 1 Princeton, where the Bulldogs won 14–12 and attackman Matt Brandau ’23 had another eight-point game, following his eight-point game against University of Denver on March 13. 

“It was a grind. We knew it was going to be a tough game and we gutted it out,” head coach Andy Shay said to Yale Athletics after the game. “I’m pretty proud of guys today. We are getting great leadership from our older guys which are allowing our younger ones to be contributing players.”

The last time the Bulldogs met the Quakers was on May 19, 2019 in the NCAA Quarterfinal in East Hartford, CT, where Yale won 19–18 in overtime, despite falling to the Quakers in the Ivy playoffs. Midfielder Jack Tigh ’19 scored 1:28 into the extra session, sending the Bulldogs to Philadelphia to compete in the semifinal against No. 1 Penn State. 

The Elis had an edge in shots, 53–47, and goalkeeper Jack Starr ’22 made eight saves over the course of the game. 

“Penn has proven they are an excellent team and this will be a huge challenge,” Brandau said. 

This season, the Quakers have won four games, with the wins coming against Duke, Penn State, Villanova and Cornell. Penn has lost to No. 3 Georgetown and No. 4 Princeton, 10–8 and 21–20 in overtime, respectively. 

On March 26, Penn tallied a 15–11 victory over No. 4 Cornell. The Quakers had a strong first half and outshot Cornell on the day, 52–42, also going three-for-three on its first three extra-man opportunities. 

“We refused to get stepped on by Cornell, who has a pretty high-powered offense,” Quaker head coach Mike Murphy told The Daily Pennsylvanian. “Except for a couple self-inflicted wounds in the clearing game, I felt like we played better on defense today.”

Midfielder Sam Handley recorded six points, bringing his total over the past two games to 17. Eight different Penn players scored on Saturday, including attackman Cam Rubin, who scored three, and attackman Jack Shultz and midfielder James Shipley, who each tallied two goals. 

Goalkeeper Patrick Burkinshaw made 15 saves and has a season record of 67–61 goals saved. He has a 11.64 goals against average and .525 save percentage.

As the Quakers match the Bulldogs’ record at 4–2, the Elis are ready to resume a winning streak and take down their next Ivy competitor. 

“The Ivy League is so competitive this year,” Brandau said. “[It] only adds to the excitement every week.”

USA Lacrosse named Brandau and midfielder Brian Tevlin ’22 members of the Sixes squad as part of the 12 players selected to represent the United States at The World Games 2022.