PHILADELPHIA — In consecutive seasons, Yale’s lacrosse program took on unfamiliar roles.

In 2018, the Bulldogs were NCAA tournament champions for the first time.

This spring, they were the hunted.

Yale fared well in both roles, but only one of them truly suited Andy Shay’s program.

It was why the fifth-seeded Bulldogs relished the opportunity to play the no-one-believes-in-us card entering the NCAA semifinals against top-seeded Penn State. After disposing of the Nittany Lions 21-17, there wasn’t really a chance to replicate the same conditions in Monday’s national title game against Virginia.

Yale (15-4) didn’t leave Philadelphia with a second consecutive title after the third-seeded Cavaliers controlled things almost from start to finish while claiming a 13-9 victory. But the Bulldogs’ ability to back up last year’s run with an appearance on the final day of the season illustrated they are anything but a one-year wonder.

“A lot of times back in the day they were huge underdogs,” senior midfielder John Daniggelis said. “They didn’t care. They would go head on into the challenge and I knew that’s what I wanted. Fortunately, throughout my career, the team has gotten better and better. Obviously, this year we weren’t so much underdogs, but it’s nice to see that transition, and the seniors did a great job of leaving the program in a better place.”

Yale might not be a traditional blueblood, but widespread appreciation of Shay’s work has finally caught up to the reality of the program’s impressive consistency. The Bulldogs are one of six programs to make the NCAA tournament in each of the last five years. They’ve won at least 10 games in each of those seasons; only Maryland, Duke and Denver have longer such streaks.

If Yale wasn’t the nation’s best team, it was one of the surest things to be in any game. Entering the postseason, all three of its losses came by one-goal margin. It was an unlikely candidate to face a large deficit, in part because of Tewaaraton finalist TD Ierlan’s faceoff dominance.

Yet even an 18-for-24 day from the junior couldn’t prevent Virginia from building a seven-goal lead by late in the third quarter and then shrewdly sitting on the lead to seal a championship.

“They held the ball for every shot clock,” Shay said. “They got it to single digits I don’t know how many times. So that was very frustrating. We like to run and we like to play fast, and they got a few saves on us, [we had] a few failed clears, and they’re possessing the ball as long as they were. It got very frustrating, and it wore on us.”

Ultimately, it meant Yale returned to New Haven without a title trophy to match last year’s. It did not change how a senior class anchored by midfielders Joseph Sessa (13 goals, 23 assists), Jack Tigh (31 goals, 18 assists) and Daniggelis (21 goals, 9 assists) helped push the Bulldogs to the sport’s grandest stage for the first time — and then did it again.

The repeat trip to championship weekend was different, and not just because the likes of attackman Ben Reeves, short-stick defensive midfielder Tyler Warner and defenseman Christopher Keating graduated after last season. There was more attention on — and, frankly, more belief in — the Bulldogs from the outside than ever before.

It did not fit Yale’s ethos especially well, but like so many other obstacles during the program’s buildup, the Bulldogs handled it ably.

“From day one we approached it like it was a clean slate — no pressure on us, new team, new group of guys, and all that credit is to these seniors [and] coaches,” freshman Matt Brandau said.

Brandau’s monster debut season, which included program freshman records for goals (50) and points (74) is one of several reasons Yale could very well further establish itself as a Memorial Day weekend regular. Ierlan is back after posting a .757 faceoff percentage and an absurd 15.4 ground balls per game and earning first team All-American honors.

Jackson Morrill (third team All-American) and Matt Gaudet (honorable mention) will return to a loaded attack, while Chris Fake (second team) and Aidan Hynes (honorable mention) are also set to return.

And then there’s the bonus: With Virginia bringing back much from its championship team and Penn State both loaded and hungry after its semifinal loss, there probably won’t be quite so many eyes on Yale entering the 2020 season.

Just the way the Bulldogs like it.

“I wish we’d fared better,” Shay said. “But we will be back.”