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FOXBOROUGH, M.A. — It was all Yale early and often today, as the Yale Bulldogs defeated the Albany Great Danes 20-11. If I am being honest, the nine goal win really doesn’t reflect how dominating Yale was today. Yale jumped out to a big 7-0 lead in the first quarter and never look back. It was as if Bulldogs could do whatever they wanted today. The Bulldogs did a great job controlling the pace of play and their pressure on the clears combined with a tough zone defense flummoxed Albany’s potent offense for most of the game.
The Great Danes barely even had the ball in the offensive end in the first quarter and weren’t able to find the back of the net until late in the first quarter. Things got so dire for the Albany that head coach Scott Marr replaced starting goalie and USILA First Team All-American, JD Colarusso, with Nate Sierkierski after Yale scored its 7th goal of the game. JD did return midway through the second quarter, only to be removed once again to start the fourth quarter
The Great Danes put up more of a fight in the second quarter when they scored four goals. However, despite the modest run, Yale always found a way to counter. Indeed, Yale put up another five goals in the second quarter to extend their lead from six to seven as they went into halftime up 12-5. The second half was more of the same, as Albany only managed to score two goals in the third quarter, while Yale again put up another 5 goals to take a 17-7 lead into the 4th. Albany found a little punch in the fourth quarter, but by then it was too late as Yale capped their big day with their 20th goal, making them the first team to score 20 goals in a Final Four game since Syracuse did it back in 1995 when the Orange beat Virginia 20-13.
Yale was led in scoring by Ben Reeves who finished with 9 points (5 Gs & 4 As), Jackson Morrill who finished with 8 points (3 Gs & 5 As), and Matt Gaudet who finished with six goals on the day. With the loss, Albany finished the 2018 season with a 16-3 record. Yale now moves onto the Championship game on Monday where they will play the winner of Duke and Maryland.