Yale Athletics

This past Saturday, the men’s lacrosse team (4–5, 3–2 Ivy) won their third straight game over Dartmouth (7–4, 1–3 Ivy), earning them a spot in the upcoming Ivy League tournament on May 2 and 4.

The Bulldogs’ latest victory follows wins over Brown (15–12) and Penn (14–11). Yale sent the Big Green back to Hanover, New Hampshire, with their third consecutive conference loss after falling to Princeton (8–11) and Harvard (7–18). 

“We had great energy going into the game with a good speech from Jack Stuzin ’25 and from our captain, Max Krevsky ’25,” long stick midfielder Francis Keneally ’28 wrote to the News.

Saturday’s game was the team’s last home conference game of the season, which the team celebrated with the traditional Senior Day. Before the game, the team honored its 19 seniors.

Once the game got going, the Elis’ aggressive offense started the first period with a bang. 

First-year Nick Wehmeyer ’28 filled in for Machado Rodriguez ’25, who injured his shoulder against Penn. Wehmeyer “didn’t look back as he won the majority of the face-offs,” according to Keneally, helping Yale score four back-to-back goals. 

Midfielder Johnny Keib ’25 charged Dartmouth’s goal to score the first goal of the game at 13:56. Wehmeyer then won the second faceoff, allowing midfielder Brad Sharp ’25 to assist attackman David Anderson ’26 to shoot, bringing Yale to a 2–0 lead less than a minute. Sharp then scored unassisted, followed by Max Krevsky ’25 and Keib tag-teaming, leading Keib to score his second goal of the game.

Just three minutes into the game, Yale led 4–0. 

Dartmouth then picked up momentum, responding with three consecutive goals. However, the Bulldogs refused to let the Big Green narrow their lead, answering with two more goals. Attackman Peter Moynihan ’27 scored unassisted, and Leo Johnson ’25 assisted Keib, marking Keib’s first-period hat trick. With another two goals by the Big Green, the high-scoring first quarter closed with Yale narrowly leading 5–6.  

Captain Krevsky reflected on the team’s strong four-goal start.

“Coach Shay and the coaching staff did a fantastic job preparing us during the week for a 60-minute battle,” Krevsky wrote to the News. “Even after we jumped out early to a 4-0 lead with all the momentum, we did our best to stay neutral and approach each possession level-headed knowing Dartmouth was not going down without a fight.”

In the second period, both teams’ defenses held strong. Yale’s Paquette was a powerhouse in the goal, only allowing two Dartmouth goals. While these goals allowed the Big Green to momentarily take a one-goal lead, the Elis rallied together, sending three goals to the back of the net. Midfielder Christian Johnson ’25 assisted Anderson in scoring his second goal, and both Leo Johnson and Lyons scored unassisted. At the half, Yale led 9–7.

The Bulldogs ultimately sealed the victory in the third quarter. Anderson’s hat trick, with an assist from L. Johnson, put Yale at a three-goal lead. Dartmouth’s two consecutive goals of the period were no match for the Elis. 

With five and a half minutes remaining, Krevsky assisted Leo Johnson in scoring Yale’s 11th goal of the game. A minute later, Johnson was on fire, returning with an unassisted goal. Lyons followed seconds after to score his second goal. In the last second of the period, the duo of Johnson and Anderson dominated, with Andson scoring his fourth goal of the game. With these four back-to-back goals, Yale concluded the quarter with a strong 14–9 lead. 

Immediately after winning the first faceoff of the fourth period, Wehmeyer charged Dartmouth’s goal to score his first career goal. The Big Green answered with a goal by junior Colin McGill ’26, his sixth of the game. 

However, at the nine-minute mark, the Bulldogs followed up with a six-goal campaign, four of which were from Lyons. He was on fire, scoring first unassisted and then with help from long-stick midfielder Luke Michalik ’27. L. Johnson and Cole Jackson ’27 each also scored unassisted. L. Johnson then assisted Lyons to his fourth goal of the game, bringing the Elis to a 10-goal lead, 20–10. But Lyons still wasn’t done, charging the net to score unassisted. 

With this powerhouse Yale offense, Dartmouth had no chance of returning, despite scoring the game’s final two goals. The Bulldogs destroyed the Big Green 21–12. 

Krevsky shared the locker room conversation with the News, which led to the team’s strong second half performance.

“At halftime, we talked about how important ground balls would be to finish the game, and I think we did a great job in the second half of imposing our will in the middle of the field and finished the game with 13 more ground balls than them,” Krevsky wrote.

The team came together to widen the gap and never looked back. 

“We had a good start to the game with four goals within the first few minutes of the game. Despite them coming back, we put our foot down in the second half and did what we have historically done to Dartmouth,” he continued.

The Bulldogs have a long history of crushing the Big Green since 2010, destroying them 20-13 last season, 21-11 in 2023, and most significantly, 23-6 in 2022. 

According to Keneally, Saturday’s victory was a team effort with strong performances from multiple players. 

Lyons’ six goals, four of which were in the fourth period, marked a game-high. L. Johnson and Anderson tied with four goals each, and L. Johnson led with four assists. Keib pulled off a first-period hat trick, and Wehmeyer won 17 of the 29 faceoffs. Goalkeeper Paquette’s nine saves prevented the Big Green from narrowing Yale’s lead. Overall, the 21 goals marked a season-high for the team. 

“I think we played well as a team and have grown immensely since the start of the season,” Keneally wrote. 

Likewise, Krevsky was proud of the team’s performance and looks forward to what’s ahead for the team as they prepare to take on Hofstra and Albany this week before concluding Ivy regular season play against Princeton.

“It was a special day celebrating the seniors paired with another Ivy League win,” Krevsky wrote to the News. 

This impressive victory over Dartmouth earned the team a ticket to the Ivy League tournament, which will take place on May 2 and 4 at the home of the No. 1 seed. It will be Yale’s 14th consecutive appearance at the tournament. 

“From now on we’re just looking towards the Ivy tournament and hopefully getting our revenge against Princeton, as that is likely who we will play,” Keneally wrote.

Before the tournament, the Elis will host Hofstra at Reese Stadium for their final home game of the season tonight, April 15, at 7 p.m.