No. 7 Yale Lacrosse Playing at No. 8 UAlbany Under the Saturday Night Lights

yale-lacrosse-2015

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The No. 7 Yale University men’s lacrosse team visits to No. 8 Albany on Saturday night. The opening face-off of a non-conference game with potential NCAA Tournament implications is set for 7:00 p.m.

Yale vs. UAlbany History

• All-Time Series: The Elis hold a 6-4 series advantage.

• Streak: Yale has won the last two meetings.

• Last Meeting: 2013, Yale won 15-8 in Albany.

• Last UAlbany Win: 2008, 15-4

• First Meeting: 2000, Yale won, 16-9, in Albany.

Poll Position

The Elis are ranked in both national polls. (April 13)

• No. 7 in USILA Coaches

• No. 7 in Cascade/Maverik Media

RPI

Yale is seventh in the April 13th edition of the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index.

Last Time Out

The No. 7/9 Yale University men’s lacrosse team held No. 12 Brown scoreless for over 22 minutes to pick up an important 16-10 Ivy League victory.

Jeff Cimbalista scored four second-half goals for the Bulldogs (9-2, 3-2 Ivy). Conrad Oberbeck and Eric Scott added three goals each for the victors, who defeated Brown for the sixth straight time.

Brown (8-3, 2-2 Ivy) was led with five goals from Dylan Molloy.

Rookie Reeves

Ben Reeves currently is five points away from tying the Yale Lacrosse freshman scoring record. The bar of 39 points was set by Mike Devlin, ’79 and Brendan Gibson, ’07.

About UAlbany

• Last Game: Won 10-8 at Bryant on April 14.

• Burning Bulbs: The Great Danes have scored 20 or more goals in five games this season.

• Offensive Leaders: UAlbany tops the nation in points per game (28.25) and scoring offense (17.00).

• Nationally Ranked: This is the fourth-straight week that UAlbany has been ranked in the top-10 of each poll, the first time since 2007 that the team has earned that feat.

• Top Spot: The Great Danes, gunning for a three-peat, have secured the 1-seed in the upcoming 2015 America East Tournament.

• Players to Watch:

Lyle Thompson leads the country with 3.83 assists a game. The two-time All-American averages an NCAA-best 6.50 points per game. The senior set the NCAA career points record against Bryant.

Connor Fields is the freshman scoring leader, averaging 4.50 points per game.

Thompson, Fields and Seth Oakes each have scored over 30 goals this season.

Co-Players of the Week

Four members of the No. 7 Yale University men’s lacrosse team received weekly Ivy League honors on April 13, highlighted by Jeff Cimbalista and Conrad Oberbeck being named Co-Players of the Week.

Christopher Keating and Ben Reeves earned spots on the weekly honor roll for their performance against Brown.

GAA

Eric Natale tops the Ivy League allowing 7.81 goals per game. As of April 15, the senior ranks ninth in the NCAA.

On the Road

Yale, which went 5-3 away from Reese in 2014, is 2-1 on the road this season.

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Moving On Up

Conrad Oberbeck currently ranks sixth on the career scoring chart with 165 points. The senior currently has 125 goals and 40 assists.

4. Matt Gibson 94-78-172 2009-2012

5. Ted Moran 84-82-166 1983-1986

6. Conrad Oberbeck 125-40-165 2012-Pres.

7. Brandon Mangan 99-64-163 2011-2014

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Natale Saves

Eric Natale stopped eight Brown shots to move into seventh place on the career saves chart. Against the Big Green, the senior passed a pair of former Elis, Craig Hornig ’80, 354 and Johnathan Falcone ’11, 360. In sixth place on the list is with Jason Reese ’87 with 404.

5. Tony Guido 439 1987-1990

6. Jason Reese 404 1984-1987

7. Eric Natale 369 2012-Present

Chasing Reese

With his hat trick in the win over St. John’s on March 3, Conrad Oberbeck moved into second place on the Career Scoring List. The senior moved into third place with a hat trick in the win over Maryland on Feb. 21.

1. Jon Reese 162 1987-1990

2. Conrad Oberbeck 125 2012-Present

3. Adam Puritz 106 1985-1988

4. Tom Zaccagnino 100 1994-1996

Freshmen Scoring

Ben Reeves is averaging 3.09 points per game, the sixth best mark among NCAA rookies as of April 15.

NEILA Poll

Yale occupies the top spot in the latest (April 13) New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Poll.

Home Cooking

After going 4-2 at Reese Stadium in 2014, Yale went 7-1 at home this season.

The Class of 2015

Before the Brown game, the Bulldogs honored the Class of 2015:

29 David Better D

43 Alec Bullen D

26 Alirio DeMeireles D

18 Colin Flaherty M

30 Harry Kucharczyk M

37 Eric Natale G

9 Conrad Oberbeck A

7 John Radigan D

3 Sean Shakespeare M

6 Shane Thornton M

38 James Tjarksen M

As of April 12, the 11 seniors on the roster have an overall record of 41-17, including consecutive Ivy League Tournament titles and NCAA Tournament appearances. The most wins by a Yale lacrosse class is 46 by the 1991 and 1992 groups.

Senior CLASS Award

Conrad Oberbeck was one of 10 student-athletes selected as a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award on April 8. The senior was named a candidate on March 4.

Quick Start Versus Dartmouth

The No. 11 Yale University men’s lacrosse team scored on its first four shots and cruised past Dartmouth 10-4.

Conrad Oberbeck and Ben Reeves led the Bulldogs, winners of three straight games, with three points each.

Elis Roll Past Sacred HearT

The No. 11 Yale University men’s lacrosse team scored the first 10 goals of the game in its 13-3 win versus Sacred Heart.

Conrad Oberbeck and Jeff Cimbalista paced the Elis with four points each.

Yale went on the attack early and often on the visiting Pioneers, holding a 4-0 lead after the opening quarter.

Rookie of the Week

For the third time this season, Ben Reeves was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week on March 30. The attackman had two goals and one assist in the win at Penn.

Previously the freshman earned back-to-back honors Feb. 24 and Feb. 17.

As of March 30, the Palmyra Macedon High School product was second on the team with 25 points (15 goals, 10 assists).

First Ivy League Win of the Spring

The No. 9/11 Yale University men’s lacrosse team rolled to its first Ivy League win of the year, defeating Penn 15-7. Conrad Oberbeck led the Bulldogs, which outscored the home team 13-4 over the first three quarters, with five goals and one assist.

Jeff Cimbalista had three goals with Ben Reeves adding two goals and one assist for the victors.

Late Comeback Falls Short

The No. 9 Yale University men’s lacrosse team pushed hard in its attempt to come back from a four-goal deficit in the fourth quarter but No. 10/13 Princeton was able to hold off the hard charging Elis, 11-10.

Conrad Oberbeck led the Bulldogs with seven points, three goals and four assists. The output from the senior is a team-high this season.

The Tigers were paced Mike MacDonald and Kip Orban. MacDonald recorded six points, two goals and four assists while Orban scored four goals.

For the sixth consecutive time, the 99th meeting between the Ivy League rivals was a one-goal game.

Ivy Opener

The No. 6 Yale University men’s lacrosse team went scoreless over a 23:26 period, greatly contributing to a 14-7 lost to No. 9 Cornell in the Ivy League opener on March 14. The visitors were led with four goals each by Dan Lintner and Matt Donovan.

Conrad Oberbeck led the Bulldogs, who suffered their first setback of the season on a rainy afternoon, with two goals and one assist. Michael Keasey and Ben Reeves added a goal and an assist each.

During the Elis scoring drought, Cornell ran off six-straight goals to break open what was a tied contest.

Great Start

The Bulldogs got off to a 5-0 start for the first time since 1990, reaching as high as the No. 6 ranking.

Natale Scores

In the second quarter of the Fairfield game, Yale goalie Eric Natale took advantage of a sleeping Stags’ defense and scored from downtown to give Yale a 4-1 lead.

Overtime Win vs. Fairfield

Eric Scott scored 2:59 into the extra period as the No. 6 Yale University men’s lacrosse team defeated Fairfield 9-8. The second consecutive overtime victory of the season moved the Bulldogs to 5-0 for the first time since 1990.

Ben Reeves, Scott and Michael Bonacci, who assisted on the game-winner, each scored twice in the win.

Yale and Fairfield went to overtime for the second straight season. Last year, the Stags won 12-11 at Fairfield.

Streak Broken

Fairfield held Conrad Oberbeck out of the goal column for the first time since April 2, 2013. The 28-straight games with a goal was the second active longest streak in the NCAA.

Snow ‘Dogs

Jeff Cimbalista scored 14 seconds into overtime as the No. 6 Yale University men’s lacrosse team remained undefeated, beating St. John’s 11-10 on a snowy March 3 afternoon.

The Bulldogs, who last started 4-0 in 2011, received three goals from Conrad Oberbeck, now second all-time with 108 career goals. Cimbalista and Michael Keasey scored twice in the victory.

Balance Beats Bryant

Six players recorded three or more points as the No. 7/8 Yale University men’s lacrosse team moved 3-0 on the season defeating Bryant 16-9 on Feb. 28.

Ben Reeves led the victors with three goals and two assists. The freshman was one of four Bulldogs, Conrad Oberbeck, Jeff Cimbalista and Eric Scott to score three goals on the afternoon. Michael Bonacci led Yale with four assists.

Tewaaraton

Conrad Oberbeck was one of 50 players named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List on Feb. 26.

Historic Win

The No. 14 Yale University men’s lacrosse team broke open a back and forth battle with four goals in the fourth quarter to defeat No. 7 Maryland 10-6.

Conrad Oberbeck led the Bulldogs with three goals and two assists as Yale defeated Maryland for the first time since 1925. Ben Reeves and Jeff Cimbalista added two goals each, while Michael Keasey recorded three points for the victors.

A key going into the non-conference game was winning the face-off against the Terps’ All-American Charlie Raffa. Both Conor Mackie and Jonathan Reese did their part in the X, winning 72% (13-for-18) of the draws against a trio of Maryland face-off men. The duo won all eight of the second half face-offs.

Season Opener

Fifteen different players recorded points in the 19-4 victory over UMass-Lowell on Feb. 14.

The Bulldogs were led by Conrad Oberbeck and Ben Reeves with six points each. Oberbeck had five goals and one assist while Reeves scored twice and had four helpers in his first collegiate game.

Yale scored a dozen unanswered goals, six in each of the first two quarters, to take a 12-1 lead at the half on the River Hawks, playing in their first Division I contest.

Preseason NEILA

Five members of the Yale University men’s lacrosse program were selected to the 2015 All-New England Preseason teams by the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA).

• Attackman Conrad Oberbeck and defenseman Michael Quinn were named to the first team.

• Bulldogs tabbed for the second team were senior midfielders Colin Flaherty and Harry Kucharczyk and short stick defenseman Mark Glicini.

Preseason All-Americans

Inside Lacrosse magazine named junior defenseman Michael Quinn a second team preseason All-American, while senior attackman Conrad Oberbeck received an honorable mention.

Ivy League

The Bulldogs, one of five Ivy League programs in the preseason national rankings, are looking to make their sixth straight post-season appearance in 2015.

MLL Draft

Conrad Oberbeck was drafted by the New York Lizards in the sixth round of the 2015 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft.

Coach Shay

Andy Shay, who completed his 11th season of his first collegiate head coaching job in 2014, has engineered a 52-23 mark over the last five seasons and had four consecutive 10-plus win seasons. He also directed the Bulldogs to five straight Ivy League Tournament appearances, two-consecutive Ivy Tournament Titles, a 2010 regular-season Ivy League Championship and two-straight (school record) NCAA appearances, including Yale’s first in 20 years.

Philly

The 2015 NCAA® Men’s Lacrosse Championships returns to Philadelphia May 23- 25 hosted by Drexel University. For three days, watch the nation’s best compete at Lincoln Financial Field. 3 days, 3 championships, it’s the ultimate lacrosse experience! Get your affordable tickets today, visit NCAA.com/Lacrosse!

On Deck

Yale closes out the regular season at Harvard on April 25. The opening face-off of the Ivy League matchup is set for 4:00 p.m.

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