No. 20 Villanova comes up short vs. No. 7 Yale in snowy conditions, 17-14

After beating Penn State 13-12 in overtime last weekend, No. 20 Villanova catapulted itself into the Insider Lacrosse media poll. Facing No. 7 Yale proved to be a bigger challenge.

It proved to be too big of a challenge as the Bulldogs (1-0, 0-0) defeated the Wildcats (1-1, 0-0 Big East), 17-14, at Reese Stadium in New Haven, Connecticut. Saturday’s game was the fifth time meeting between the two schools with Yale now holding a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series.

» READ MORE: Maddy Siegrist’s scoring ability has put her on course to make Villanova history

In a back-and-forth contest which featured four lead changes, Villanova proved it could go toe-to-toe with a top-10 opponent. Although the Wildcats weren’t happy with the final score, there is a lot to look forward to for the rest of the season.

The field seemed to be tilted one way as Yale outscored Villanova in the first and third quarters and Villanova beat out Yale in the second and fourth. Despite leading 8–7 at the half, a nine-goal third quarter from the Bulldogs proved to be too much for the Wildcats to overcome.

“They came out early and jumped on us and then we responded,” head coach Mike Corrado said. “I don’t know what the exact numbers were, but we had a really good second quarter and then they kinda did the same thing to us in the third quarter.”

Villanova took advantage of the home team’s undisciplined play, scoring on five out of nine man-up opportunities. Senior attacker Patrick Daly led the way again, scoring four goals after tallying a career-high six goals at Penn State. Senior midfielder Matt Campbell added three goals for the Wildcats. Campbell was one of 51 men’s lacrosse players named to the Tewaaraton Watch List. The Tewaaraton Award is given to the top player in men’s and women’s lacrosse at the end of the season.

It had been over 1,000 days since Yale hosted a men’s lacrosse game and the equipment at Reese Stadium couldn’t keep up. Both the scoreboard and video board malfunctioned, with fans and players having to rely on memory to keep score.

Field conditions were also less than ideal with snow flurries starting to fall in the second quarter. The snow squall lasted through to the end of the game, with the wind chill hovering in the 20s with medium to low visibility. As conditions worsened, the referees even switched out the white ball for a yellow one for added visibility.

“It’s hard to tell just what the impact was, but both teams were in it,” Corrado said.

This is Corrado’s 16th season serving as head coach for the Villanova men’s lacrosse team and his 27th season with the program overall. Among his accomplishments, he’s been named Big East Coach of the Year three times (2010, 2013, 2019) and CAA Coach of the Year (2009) and led the Wildcats to to the NCAA tournament in 2009, 2011 and 2018: the only times the program has qualified for the NCAAs. Villanova qualified for the Big East tournament for the ninth straight year in 2021, the longest streak of any team currently in the conference.

Playing defense for the Wildcats as an undergraduate, Corrado was a four-year starter. He was named the team’s Rookie of the Year in 1984 and as a senior served as co-captain and was named team MVP.

“Just being around the players, like the bus rides [and] hotels,” Corrado said when asked about his favorite memories with the team “Obviously big wins are great, but I think just the relationships you get to build with your players is what it’s all about.”

Other than playing for the Wildcats and serving as head coach, Corrado took up posts coaching the defense and working as a recruiting coordinator. He was inducted to the Villanova Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 2005.

“I feel very lucky to be able to work at a school I went to and I love so much. It’s a dream and I feel very fortunate to be able to do it,” Corrado said.

Villanova will host Fairfield on Feb. 26 at 1:00 p.m. for its home opener.