The men’s lacrosse team fell to No. 15 Yale Friday after the Bulldogs (7-3, 3-2 Ivy) scored four consecutive fourth-quarter goals to complete an 11-8 comeback victory. Brandon Mangan and Kirby Zdrill led the Bulldogs with hat tricks, while Henry Blynn ’16 led the Bears (5-5, 1-3) with a pair of goals.
“Our offense got off to a rough start in the first quarter, which really hurt us in the end,” Blynn said.
The result marked the fourth consecutive win for Yale and the fourth straight loss for Bruno, whose Ivy League Tournament chances are dwindling.
Yale started the contest off strong, taking a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter.
“It was a very slow start for us,” said Head Coach Lars Tiffany ’90. “We didn’t execute offensively or dominate the play. It’s just really frustrating to give up the whole first quarter.”
Brown responded with goals from Blynn and Nick Piroli ’15. Brendan Caputo ’16 also scored before the half, yet Bruno trailed 5-3 at the break.
“After the first quarter, it clicked for us, and we started chipping away at the lead,” Tiffany said. “We were really playing at a high level for the rest of the game.”
John DePeters ’13 drew Brown closer just 25 seconds into the third quarter with his ninth tally of the season. But Yale scored the next two, making the score 7-4.
With just over a minute left in the third quarter, Brown started a run of four consecutive goals to take the lead. Blynn and Sam Hurster ’14 both scored before the end of the period.
“I just put my shoulder into the defenseman and shot around him,” Blynn said of his second goal.
In the fourth quarter, Kylor Bellistri ’16 and George Sherman ’13 scored within 90 seconds of each other to give Bruno its first lead of the game, 8-7.
“It showed a lot of heart, a lot of credit to the men for coming back, tying it and taking the lead,” Tiffany said.
The Bulldogs would not be outdone, and they put up their own four-spot to finish the game. Zdrill and Mangan both finished off their hat tricks, and Colin Flaherty buried Bruno on a score with 41 seconds left in the game.
Despite another loss, Blynn has been a bright spot for the Bears, leading the team with 22 goals.
“(Blynn) competes with an intensity that is unwilling to relent,” Tiffany said. “Not only is he scoring goals, but he rides hard, and he’s a physical player.”
Blynn says his transition to NCAA lacrosse has not been difficult.
“We play the same offense I played in high school,” he said. “I played pretty high-level lacrosse in high school against the best teams in the nation. It definitely prepared me for the intensity at the college level.”
Bruno improved on face-offs, winning nine of 20 compared to last week’s four of 16.
“The best surprise for us was our face-off play,” Tiffany said. “It was almost 50-50, and that was a bonus for us.”
Goalie Will Round ’14 made his first start of the season in net, tallying eight saves for the Bears.
“Will has been very steady in practice for the last couple weeks,” Tiffany said. “He did a nice job.”
Brown will travel across town to face Providence College (8-5) Tuesday evening. Yale faces Stony Brook University (6-6) Monday night.
“We need to win out,” Blynn said. “We can’t lose. We’re going to do it by having our offense play a full four quarters and by winning our faceoffs like we did last game.”
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