Yale Athletics

The men’s lacrosse team launched the 2025 season this past Saturday at Villanova. In a close match-up, the Bulldogs fell to the Wildcats, 11–13.

The Elis entered the season with a No. 3 preseason ranking in the Ivy League and are coming off a successful 2024 season in which the team made its 13th consecutive appearance in the men’s lacrosse Ivy League Tournament. Ten players also earned All-Ivy recognition in 2024 for their strong athletic and academic performance, including captain Max Krevsky ’25. 

Several Bulldogs have already garnered numerous prestigious nominations and awards in the preseason.  The Tewaaraton Foundation, which recognizes top players across the US, named Leo Johnson ’25, Chris Lyons ’25 and Brad Sharp ’26 as players to watch in the 2025 season. Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-Amercians announced that Krevsky, Lyons and Machado Rodriguez ’25 earned Third Team accolades, while Johnson, Jack Stuzin ’25 and Patrick Pisano ’26 were awarded honorable mentions. 

Coming into Saturday’s game, Villanova entered after suffering a 5–15 blow in its Feb. 9 season opener to Penn State. The Wildcats sought to rebound after losing to the Nittany Lions. In last year’s match-up, the Bulldogs defeated the Wildcats 13–11 after Carson Kuhl ’25 scored back-to-back goals. 

The Wildcats took an early lead in the game, with Luke Raymond scoring the first goal within the first three minutes at 12:14. Continuing this lead, Villanova’s David Link followed up with an unassisted goal of his own to bring the Wildcats to a 2–0 lead. Krevsky fought back, earning Yale’s first goal at 11:02. The Bulldogs put up a strong defense, preventing Villanova from scoring for the next three minutes. Villanova, determined to advance its lead over the Elis, scored its third goal. To round out the first period, attackman Johnson scored the Bulldogs’s second goal, narrowing the Wildcats’s lead to 3–2.  

In the second period, Villanova extended its lead to 5–2 with back-to-back goals, to which the Elis also responded with two consecutive goals. Attackman William Sheehan ’26, assisted by Lyons, scored the first goal, and attackman Peter Moynihan ’27 scored the second goal unassisted. Villanova’s Matt Licata and Ryan Cunningham followed up with two goals in the last 38 seconds of the period to bring the score to 7–4.

After halftime, the Wildcats dominated the third period, with Licata taking the first goal within seconds. The Bulldogs, recharged after the break, scored three back-to-back goals. Midfielder Kuhl assisted attackman David Anderson ’26, Johnson passed to Moynihan and Lyons helped Johnson bring the score to 8–7. However, Villanova didn’t let the Bulldogs narrow the gap for long, coming back with two goals to end the third period 10–7.

The final period saw the competition intensify with play going back and forth. The Bulldogs claimed the first goal of the period as Johnson assisted midfielder Johnny Keib ’25. The Wildcats soon took control of the ball, with Raymond and Jake Melchionni scoring two consecutive goals only a minute apart. While Sharp, Krevsky and Lyons responded with three back-to-back of their own bringing the game to 11–12 with only 1:12 to spare, the Bulldogs were ultimately unsuccessful. Pisano’s penalty with 17 seconds to go gave Wildcat Nick Lucchesi the chance to take advantage of the one man down to score the final goal in the last 7 seconds of the game, bringing the final score to 11–13.  

Although the Bulldogs fell, several players had notable achievements, including Krevsky, Johnson and Moynihan, who each scored two goals. Johnson and Kuhl proved successful aiding their teammates with two assists each, and Lyons’s three assists marked a team-high. Despite the loss, goalie Hugh Conrad ’26 had 11 saves, and Moynihan’s two goals tied his career high. 

The Elis will return to action hosting Army at Reese Stadium on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 1 p.m.