PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The 13th-ranked and fourth-seeded University of Pennsylvania men's lacrosse team was up 6-4 over third-seeded and fifth-ranked Yale at halftime of Sunday's Ivy League Tournament final, but given the recent history between these teams everyone expected yet another down-to-the-wire finish at Brown's Stevenson-Pincince Field.
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Penn made sure that wouldn't happen, though, reeling off the first five goals of the third quarter and never looking back en route to a 16-9 win over the Bulldogs.
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The win gave Penn its second straight Ivy Tournament title—the Quakers also beat Yale in the final the last time this event was held, in 2019—and the third in program history.
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Penn improved to 10-4 overall and looks forward to tonight's selection show to find out its NCAA Championship fate. Yale fell to 11-4 and is also assured of an at-large bid into the field.
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Quaker Notemeal
*Penn improved to 3-0 in Ivy League Tournament championship games, the wins coming in 2014, 2019 and 2022.
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*This marked just the second team the fourth seed has won the Ivy League Tournament, dating back to the ILT's start in 2010; the other time it happened was in 2015 (Yale).
*Penn's seven-goal win was the largest in an Ivy League Tournament final since 2012, when Yale beat Princeton 15-7, and the third-largest margin in a final in Tourney history.
*Penn set the team record for goals in an ILT final (16) and team tournament records for goals (30) and saves (36); the Quakers'Â 19 assists for the weekend were two shy of the record, and their 49 combined points were one shy of the high mark.
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*The win was Penn's biggest over Yale, by margin, since an 18-9 victory in 1997.
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*Penn had five players earn all-tournament honors: seniors
Ben Bedard,
Patrick Burkinshaw,
BJ Farrare,
Dylan Gergar, and
Sam Handley.
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*Burkinshaw also was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player after he made 16 saves on Sunday, giving him a tournament-record 36 for the weekend. (On Friday, Burkinshaw set a tournament single-game record with 20 in the semifinal win over Brown.)
*Burkinshaw is the third Penn player to earn MOP honors at the Ivy Tournament, along with Zack Losco (2014) and Reed Junkin (2019).
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*Gergar led the Quakers with four goals and six points on Sunday; he finished the tournament with nine goals, tied for the second-most in a tournament in ILT history.
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*Handley had five points on Sunday, with three goals and two assists; he ended the weekend with 12 points, also tied for the second-most in a tournament in ILT history.
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*Bedard had his third multi-goal game of 2022, scoring twice, and also had an assist.
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*Farrare, who had a staggering five caused turnovers and seven ground balls on Friday, had another CT and three GB on Sunday.
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*Junior
Gabe Furey scored twice (his fourth multi-goal game this season) and dished out two assists on Sunday; the four points were one shy of his season/career high.
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*Senior
Jack Schultz scored twice on Sunday, his third multi-goal game this season and second in the last three contests.
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*Freshman
Ben Smith scored twice on Sunday, extending his goal-scoring streak to five games (12 goals in that span).
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*Sophomore
Luke DiGiacobbe netted just his second goal of the season.
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*Freshman
Tynan Walsh had two assists on Sunday but was injured late in the game; his status going forward is undetermined at this time.
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How It Happened
Yale opened the scoring on Sunday, Matt Brandau and Brad Sharp scoring 1:05 apart, before Smith opened Penn's account almost nine minutes into the contest. Schultz then scored off a Walsh feed, ending a nice tic-tac-toe play that leveled things after one.
More than six minutes went by in the second before Yale broke the 2-2 tie, but a little less than a minute later Gergar started his day with an unassisted goal. A little more than a minute after that, Furey scored unassisted to give Penn its first lead at 4-3, but Yale countered with a Chris Lyons goal that made it 4-4 with 4:41 left.
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Furey needed just 23 seconds to put the Quakers back in front, and they never relinquished that lead. DiGiacobbe scored off a Gergar feed 53 seconds after Furey's second, and Penn's lead was 6-4 at the half.
Scoring came slowly in the third, as well, but once Penn broke through the Quakers were buzzing. Gergar got things rolling a little less than five minutes into the period, then Schultz scored unassisted 39 seconds later. Handley bulldozed his way to an unassisted goal, drew a penalty on his goal, and Gergar made Yale pay with an extra-man tally just 13 seconds later. When Gergar scored his fourth of the day with 4:45 left, Penn's lead was 11-4 and the Penn side of the bleachers were in full throat.
Yale quickly got one back, ending a goalless streak of 15:24, but things slowed down from there and Bedard made it a seven-goal game again with 1:35 to play. Yale appeared to gain some life, scoring a pair of goals 1:02 apart late in the third, but a stunning sequence at the end of the period saw Burkinshaw stop a pair of Yale shots off the faceoff, then Penn hit transition and Gergar found Smith in front. The freshman potted his second of the day as the horn sounded, and the Quakers were up 13-7 after three.
That sequence seemed to take the wind out of Yale's sails. Penn scored the first two goals in the fourth quarter, Bedard (from Furey) and Handley (unassisted) taking the honors. Yale scored a pair of goals midway through the period, but Penn was able to control the clock and Handley closed out the scoring with 1:48 left. From there, it was just a matter of time before the coronation was complete.
Up Next
Penn will find out its NCAA Championship fate during Sunday night's selection show, which is scheduled for 9 p.m. on ESPNU.
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