One of the top storylines entering Yale’s meeting with red-hot Penn State on Saturday was the faceoff battle. TD Ierlan, the historic faceoff man that finished last season winning 79.1 percent of his faceoffs, battled the nation’s current leader, Gerard Arceri.

It was anticipated to be a close battle, but Ierlan made clear he’s still the top faceoff man in the country. He won 25 of 31 faceoffs to help the defending champions outlast Penn State 14-13 in Happy Valley.

After Grant Ament — who finished with two goals and seven assists — pulled the Nittany Lions within a goal with under a minute remaining, Ierlan won the ensuing faceoff to clinch the Bulldog’s victory. 

In a game between two powerful offense, it came as no surprise when the teams combined for eight first-quarter goals. Ament had a hand in Penn State’s first four goals, but Yale's Jackson Morrill chipped in two late assist to keep the game level at 4-4 through one period.

Matt Gaudet scored his second goal to begin the second quarter — one that saw Yale tally three of four goals to take a 7-5 lead at half.

Penn State opened the second half with two goals to tie the game at 7-7, but Yale found its groove in the third quarter. The Bulldogs scored six of seven goals, including two from Morrill, to take a 13-8 lead in the fourth quarter.

But the Nittany Lions weren’t done. Nick Spillane tallied back-to-back goals to bring Penn State within 13-11 with 8:34 left. After another Yale goal, Mac O’Keefe and Ament scored to make it a one-goal game with 56 seconds left. Ierlan’s faceoff sealed Penn State’s first loss of the season.

Hopkins Gets First Win

Johns Hopkins traveled to a rain-soaked North Carolina on Saturday looking for its first win of 2019. After losing in convincing fashion to Towson and Loyola, the Blue Jays entered the matchup with the Tar Heels needing a victory.

Dave Pietramala’s team battled the rain and the field that turned to mud over the course of the game, but it got the job done. The Blue Jays used a strong second half to outlast No. 7 North Carolina 11-10 in Chapel Hill.

Johns Hopkins jumped out to a 3-0 lead with the help of Joey Epstein, who finished with two goals and two assists. North Carolina answered with five goals from five different players to fuel a 5-4 lead at halftime. 

At 7-7 in the third quarter, the Blue Jays found their spark. Kyle Marr and Cole Williams connected on two straight goals, which kickstarted the game-clinching run of five out of six goals.

Hopkins led 11-8 with six minutes left, but had to withstand another North Carolina run. Jack Rowlett and Timmy Kelly each score to pull within one with 14 seconds left, but the Tar Heels couldn’t claw all the way back.

Laviano Wins It

Ian Laviano played the role of hero in Virginia’s overtime victory over Princeton, scoring four goals including the game-winner to help the Cavaliers rebound from a Monday loss to High Point.

IAN LAVIANO WALKS IT OFF FOR @UVAMensLax. 

Laviano’s fourth goal wins it for Virginia in overtime over @TigerLacrosse. 

UVA goalie Patrick Burkinshaw with 24 SAVES in his first start. pic.twitter.com/n3gca9Ppyd

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) February 23, 2019

However, Laviano’s performance wasn’t the most notable for Virginia. Patrick Burkinshaw, a freshman making his first start, made an NCAA season-high 24 saves, including 15 in the first half, to fuel the Cavaliers 11-10 victory over the Tigers. 

The teams traded three-goal runs in the first half that saw Matt Moore score two goals en route to a 5-5 scoreline at the break. Charlie Durbin scored two of his four goals to start the second half, giving Princeton a two-goal lead at home.

Laviano led a third-quarter run of four out of five goals to give the Cavaliers a 10-9 lead with 12:37 left. Princeton’s star attackman Michael Sowers responded with two goals of his own to put the Tigers up 11-10 with less than six minutes left.

Ryan Conrad tied the game with 4:01, his first of the game, to send the game to overtime. Burkinshaw made a key save in the overtime period that helped set up Laviano’s winner.

Spencer Takes Flight

Pat Spencer was back at it against Rutgers, showcasing his skill and athleticism in a 13-7 rout of the Scarlet Knights in Piscataway, N.J. The Loyola senior scored five goals and added two assists to lead the Greyhounds to their third straight convincing win over a ranked team.

AIR SPENCER BACK AT IT AGAIN. 

Pat Spencer continues his hot start with 5G, 2A in @LoyolaMLAX's 13-7 win over @RUmlax. pic.twitter.com/7rK9RHBrJA

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) February 23, 2019

Spencer scored Loyola’s first three goals, adding an assist in a first quarter that ended with the Greyhounds up 6-2. He added two more scores out of halftime to move his team’s lead to 10-3 in the third quarter.

Rutgers mounted a comeback, scoring three straight to close out the third quarter. However, Loyola’s dominance on faceoffs made it difficult for the Scarlet Knights to claw back. Bailey Savio won 16 of 23 faceoffs for Loyola.

Richmond Upsets Notre Dame

Just two weeks ago, Richmond mounted a furious comeback at College Park, only to fall by one goal to Maryland. The Spiders got another shot at a Top 10 upset, facing a Notre Dame team fresh off a blowout win over Detroit Mercy.

Richmond used a strong start and held on late to pick up the 9-8 win over No. 6 Notre Dame — the fifth win over a ranked team in program history. Ryan Lanchbury notched a hat trick to lead the Spiders to their third victory of the year.

SPIDERS SURVIVE. @SpiderMLAX holds off @NDlacrosse on the final possession to upset the No. 5 Fighting Irish 9-8. pic.twitter.com/jLBXtt4Fdb

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) February 23, 2019

Lanchbury scored twice in the opening quarter, which ended with a Richmond goal just before the buzzer it 4-1 early. Bryan Costabile returned the favor with two goals in the second quarter, pulling Notre Dame to within 5-4 at halftime.

Ryan Lee and Tate Gallagher scored coming out of halftime to make it 7-4 Richmond, but the Irish weren’t done. Down 9-6 in the waning minutes, Connor Martin scored two straight goals for Notre Dame to cut the deficit to one with 4:32 left.

The Irish had possession on three occasions, but turned the ball over twice and count not find the back of the cage as time expired.

Towson Moves to 3-0

Towson entered its matchup with Georgetown looking to avenge a loss it suffered last season. This time, both teams were situated in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20 after 2-0 starts.

And this time, it was the Tigers who came away with the big win over the Hoyas. Brendan Sunday had four goals and five assists, and Alex Woodall 19 of 23 faceoffs to lead No. 8 Towson to the 14-8 victory.

Sunday and teammate Brody McLean led the Towson offense through a back-and-forth first half.  Georgetown got scores from four different players, but trailed the Tigers 6-4 at the break. 

Jake Carraway scored to cut the Hoyas deficit to 7-6 late in the third quarter, but Towson found its offense, and Sunday, once again. Sunday scored three goals and assisted on two others in a five-goal run to help the Tigers jump out to an insurmountable lead.

Second OT Winner for Kirst

Villanova picked up its second straight overtime victory on Saturday, and it came from the same stick that took down then-No. 1 Yale last week.

The Wildcats headed to overtime tied 9-9 with Hofstra. With 2:31 left in the period, Connor Kirst fired home another game-winner for Villanova. Kirst may have been the hero, but Matt Campbell led the way with six goals.

Campbell scored three goals in a first half that ended with a last-second Kheegan Khan goal to give Villanova a 6-3 lead at the break. 

Ryan Tierney led a six-goal run for Hofstra out of halftime — one that gave the visitors a 9-6 lead. Tierney finished with five goals. Kirst and Campbell combined for the final three goals over the final 13:00 minutes of regulation to set up the game-winner in overtime.

St. John's Shocks High Point

Another Top 15 team went down within a 15-minutes span on Saturday afternoon, as St. John’s downed No. 11 High Point 10-9. Mike and Joe Madsen each had hat tricks to lead the Red Storm to the victory over a hot High Point team.

Chris Young had two goals for High Point to give the hosts a 6-4 lead going into halftime. The Panthers won 11 of 12 faceoffs in the first half.

The teams traded goals throughout the third quarter, leading to a 9-7 High Point lead with 13:23. Despite losing the next three faceoffs, St. John’s and its defense held strong and the Red Storm scored the next three goals to seal the comeback victory.

Mike Madsen, Jonathan Huber and Joe Madsen rounded out the scoring for St. John’s in the fourth quarter.

Maryland Pulls Away from Navy

Maryland improved to 5-0 on the season with a 14-9 win over in-state rival Navy in Annapolis. Louis Dubick led the way with five goals, while Logan Wisnauskas tallied three goals and five assists.

The Midshipmen led 3-2 after one quarter thanks to goals from Christian Daniel, Nick Cole and Greyson Torain. The Terps opened the game up in the second with goals from five different players (including a goal and two assists from Wisnauskas).

Cole and Torain led a 4-3 third quarter for Navy to cut the deficit to two goals, but they would get no closer. Jared Bernhardt had two goals in the fourth quarter to help deny any come back from the hosts. Justin Shockey won 18 of 23 faceoffs or the Terps.

Denver Dominates Utah

In a matchup between two of the Westernmost Division I lacrosse programs, Denver showcased its dominance in a 15-6 victory over Utah. Three different Pioneers had hat tricks (Ethan Walker, Ellis Geis, Drew Erickson) to lead the way.

The Pioneers outshot the Utes 43-29 and won 21 of 25 faceoffs to control the game.

Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Top 20 Scoreboard

No. 1 Loyola 13, No. 16 Rutgers 7
No. 6 Yale 14, No. 2 Penn State 13
No. 3 Maryland 14, Navy 9
Richmond 9, No. 6 Notre Dame 8
Johns Hopkins 11, No. 7 North Carolina 10
No. 8 Towson 14, No. 18 Georgetown 8
No. 9 Virginia 11, No. 19 Princeton 10 (OT)
No. 10 Ohio State 16, Bucknell 13
St. John's 10, No. 11 High Point 9
No. 12 Duke 17, Penn 7
No. 13 Denver 15, Utah 6
No. 17 Villanova 10, Hofstra 9
Detroit Mercy 15, No. 20 Marquette 12

Other Scores

Albany 13, Drexel 12
Vermont 20, Quinnipiac 10
Delaware 8, Monmouth 4
Michigan 11, Jacksonville 10
UMass 12, Harvard 9
Stony Brook 13, Brown 11