Courtesy of David Schamis

The Yale men’s lacrosse team (2–5, 1–2 Ivy) secured its first conference victory of the season over Brown (3–6, 0–2 Ivy), defeating the Bears 15–12.  

Currently the bottom two teams in the Ivy League, both squads entered the game looking to secure a victory to reverse the course of their losing seasons at the halfway point. After downing Denver over break to secure their first victory and then narrowly losing the first two conference games to Harvard and Cornell, the Bulldogs needed a win to stay afloat. Brown entered the game after securing their third victory of the season over UMass Amherst and sought to keep their winning streak alive. 

The Bears, led by Jeremy Hopsicker and Ben Scandone, took an early lead in the game scoring the first two goals. However, Yale attackman David Anderson’s ’26 assist to Leo Johnson ’25 minutes later narrowed Brown’s lead to 2–1. Brown responded with another goal, but the Elis refused to let the Bears continue widening the gap. The duo continued on their fiery path, making it through Brown’s defense. Anderson tacked on a goal in the last nine seconds of the period, with the Bulldogs down 2–3. 

Yale then took charge in the second period with captain Max Krevsky ’25 assisting Johnson to score his second goal of the game, tying the score at 3–3. Although Brown then responded with a goal of its own, Anderson and midfielder Cole Cashion ’27 led the Bulldogs in three more consecutive goals. Anderson and Cashion both scored unassisted, followed by the duo tag teaming — Anderson assisted Cashion to score another goal back-to-back. This momentum put Yale in the lead, 6–4. Play then continued switching between the Bears and the Elis for the remainder of the second quarter, with the Bulldogs narrowly leading 7–6 at the halfway point.

Long stick midfielder Francis Keneally ’28 reflected on how the team managed to make a comeback after ending the first period down by one goal to then lead by one at the half.

“I would say we typically have slow starts to games, which has been a common theme since even before I got here and would watch the games from home,” Keneally wrote to the News. “I think we did a good job of keeping our effort persistent, not forcing any offensive plays or trying to be a hero on the field and just stick to playing as a team. I believe that’s what helped us overcome the slow start and how we kept momentum.”

Entering the third period, it was still unclear whether Brown would make a comeback or if Yale could widen the lead to secure victory. The third quarter was the highest scoring of the game with 11 total goals, seven of which were scored by Yale. Brown claimed the first goal, but then midfielder Brad Sharp ’26 and Anderson each scored unassisted to bring the score to 9–7, Yale. 

The Bears did not allow the Elis to lead for long as two consecutive goals by Brown’s Hopsicker and Luke Dellicicchi tied up the game. Nevertheless, the Bulldogs responded with four more consecutive goals: defender Patrick Pisano ’26 assisted Cashion, Johnson and Chris Lyons ’25 both scored unassisted and Lyons assisted Anderson, giving Yale a lead of 13–9.

These four goals cemented the lead for the Bulldogs, from which Brown could not bounce back. Brown tried to narrow the gap with Wells Bligh’s goal, but Krevsky charged the Bears’ net to score in the last second of the period, leaving Yale fans cheering on their feet. 

Both teams put up strong defenses in the last period, determined to not allow more goals past their net. With an assist from attackman Peter Moynihan ’27, Anderson put up the first goal of the period and his fifth of the game. Brown answered with two goals, but they were not enough to overcome the strong lead Yale had paved in the third period. Yale ultimately claimed victory 15–12.

Keneally said that the team’s victory was a combination of strategies, particularly a strong offense. 

“I would say our offense did a great job of hustling for offensive ground balls,” Keneally wrote to the News. “I’d also like to give some props to David Anderson who did a great job of getting offensive ground balls and had a great game all around.”

Anderson, who has now scored three or more goals in back-to-back games, led the team with his powerhouse performance of five goals — a career-high — and two assists. His success in the game earned him the Ivy Offensive Player of the Week distinction. 

Johnson and Cashion’s hat tricks also helped the team seal the victory. The team’s 39 ground balls marked a season-high, and goalkeeper Hugh Conrad’s ’26 12 saves contributed to the team’s success. 

The Bulldogs will seek to build off of Saturday’s victory, marking the halfway point of the season.

“To keep our momentum through the rest of the season we’re going to look to keep playing as a team and just stick to making the right plays…We like to say we’re controlling the controllables,” Keneally wrote to the News.

The Elis will travel to Philadelphia to face the University of Pennsylvania Quakers on Saturday at 3 p.m.