Previewing Yale’s 2020 men’s college lacrosse schedule

The Yale Bulldogs are the 19th team in our 2020 men’s college lacrosse schedule preview series and the third team from the Ivy League. Yale finished 15-4 overall in 2019 and 5-1 in Ivy League play. Despite falling short against Penn in the Ivy League Championship game, the Bulldogs went to their second straight national championship game where they lost to Virginia on Memorial Day.

Here’s their entire 2020 schedule:

Who’s In?

• Merrimack Warriors (3/31)

Who’s Out?

• Air Force Falcons (13-6 W)

Circle These Dates

• 2/15 at Villanova: The last time these two teams played each other on the Main Line saw Yale come out on top. That was in 2017, when that series began. In the past two seasons, Villanova has won overtime thrillers in Dallas and in New Haven. Perhaps a change in scenery will help the Bulldogs this time around?
• 2/22 at Penn State: A rematch of last year’s national semifinal as well as last February’s early candidate for game of the year. Both programs are expected to be back in Philadelphia for Championship Weekend in May and both return plenty of familiar faces. TD Ierlan dominated the faceoff X in both meetings and Matt Brandau went off in the second meeting with seven goals and an assist.
• 3/14 at Cornell: The Ivy League opener takes place in Ithaca against the Big Red. Despite winning by five goals in both the regular season and Ivy League Tournament matchups, it felt like Yale controlled both games from beginning to end. Brandau had 11 total goals in both matchups to help the Bulldog offense, while the Yale defense will need to keep Jeff Teat under control. After a two-point performance in the regular season, Teat scored five times in the Ivy League semifinals with Clarke Petterson not recording a point.
• 3/21 vs. Princeton: It’s a little surprising to see that Yale’s home opener is March 21. But that’s how schedules can be sometimes. After five straight games away from Connecticut, the Bulldogs will host a hungry Princeton team at Reese Stadium. The Tigers had a lead midway through the third quarter last season in New Jersey before Yale scored five straight to take control of the game en route to a five-goal win.
• 3/28 vs. Penn: The best trio of games in 2019 came from the Penn-Yale showdowns. And it wasn’t a huge surprise to see that given the recent history between the two Ivy programs. But this time, Penn was able to record wins in the regular season and Ivy League Championship before Yale stole perhaps the most important win in the NCAA Quarterfinals. All three games were decided by a goal, with the regular season and NCAA Tournament matchups needing overtime.
• 3/31 vs. Merrimack: It should not be a surprise to see Yale add Merrimack to their regular season schedule. The two teams have scrimmaged each other the past couple of seasons and there’s a good relationship between Warriors head coach Mike Morgan and Bulldogs head coach Andy Shay.