Top-seeded Yale looked like a team poised for a run at championship weekend, haranguing fourth-seeded Penn with its 10-man zone ride and operating at peak offensive efficiency in a 21-6 victory Friday in the Ivy League men’s lacrosse semifinals at Columbia.
Attackmen Matt Gaudet (career-high seven goals) and Ben Reeves (four goals, three assists) combined for 14 points in the blowout win, which sent the Bulldogs easily on their way to Sunday’s conference championship game to face second-seeded Cornell, which defeated third-seeded Brown 7-4 in Friday’s second semifinal.
The Quakers had more turnovers (19) than shots on goal (10). Overall, Yale outshot Penn 56-27 while holding the Quakers without a goal for a span of 32 minutes, 57 seconds.
Penn’s loss means good news for bubble teams Bucknell, Cornell, Rutgers and Ohio State. Despite their strong RPI and strength of schedule, the Quakers (7-8) are ineligible for the NCAA tournament after finishing with a sub-.500 record.
Bubble teams rejoice - @YaleLacrosse routs Penn 21-6 in @IvyLeague semifinal. Matt Gaudet with career-high seven goals for Yale. Quakers fall below .500 and are eliminated from @NCAALAX tournament consideration. pic.twitter.com/4L65D2Fq9j
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 5, 2018
The Bulldogs (13-2), ranked No. 1 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20, have won six in a row, averaging more than 18 goals per game and allowing just 7.5 goals per game during this dominant stretch.
Knight Shines, Teat Does Just Enough
For the second straight week, an Ivy League opponent shut off Jeff Teat and challenged Cornell to play it five-on-five — without its greatest weapon.
This time, the Big Red, who lost 14-8 to Princeton in its regular season finale last Saturday, buckled down on defense and did just enough on offense to avoid a similar letdown, defeating Brown 7-4 in the Ivy League semifinals at Columbia.
FREE JEFF TEAT.@CornellLacrosse holds off @BrownLacrosse 7-4 to advance to Sunday's @IvyLeague final against Yale. Knight 19 saves. Teat 1G, 2A despite game-long shutoff. pic.twitter.com/CtTfjq5dZJ
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 5, 2018
Cornell goalie Christian Knight (19 saves) outdueled Phil Goss (14 saves) in a surprisingly defensive affair.
Teat seldom touched the ball, but he provided his usual spark when he did, finishing with a goal and two assists, including a backdoor feed to John Piatelli to ice the game with 1:34 remaining.