It’s not so fun being No. 1 nowadays, is it?
There will almost assuredly be a new top team in Division I men’s lacrosse come Monday after No. 14 Yale gutted out a 15-13 win over No. 1 Denver on Sunday at Peter Barton Stadium in Denver.
The mile-high air didn’t slow Yale during a sprint of a seven-minute stretch in the second half, one that provided Yale enough of a cushion to sustain a Denver comeback before ultimately putting the game away.
Down 10-9 after Noah Manning scored for Denver with 6:28 left in the third quarter, Yale unleashed a blink-and-you-miss it blitz. Machado Rodriguez won the next faceoff, leading to a Peter Moynihan goal 59 seconds later.
Rodriguez (14-for-21) and Nicholas Ramsey (5-for-11) helped tilt the field against Denver faceoff ace Alex Stathakis, as Yale won 19 of 31 draws in the game.
With the score tied, Denver won the next faceoff but failed to clear when Patrick Hackler caused a turnover, setting up a go-ahead goal from Max Krevsky. Rodriguez won another faceoff and fed Matt Brandau for another tally five seconds later.
Johnny Keib then scored the opening goal of the fourth quarter, giving Yale a 13-10 lead.
Denver responded with three goals in 78 seconds, tying it at 13 with 12:26 remaining — the type of uncharacteristic defensive breakdown that had come to haunt Yale at times during the 2023 season.
Yale, though, bounced back. The Bulldogs took a 14-13 lead on a scrappy possession in which they took seven shots before Brandau buried the eighth off a David Anderson assist. The next goal was easier, with Rodriguez winning another faceoff and Carson Kuhl connecting less than 90 seconds later.
That defense that allowed Denver to get back into it then locked in, though with a couple breaks. A JJ Sillstrop shot with 6:14 to go hit the post, as did Joshua Carlson’s look with 2:39 left.
Jared Paquette (11 saves) stopped the last two Denver shots of the contest.
