Could it be we're poised for another national championship at Yale?
 A few weeks after the Bulldogs won the NCAA men's hockey championship the men's lacrosse team is headed to the quarterfinals.

On Saturday, the No. 11 Yale men's lacrosse team rallied from a 5-1 halftime deficit to defeat eighth-seeded Penn State 10-7 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Colin Flaherty scored three goals to pace the Bulldogs, who advance to the quarterfinals next weekend at the University of Maryland. Yale plays the winner of Sunday night's Syracuse-Bryant game.
It was Yale's first NCAA Tournament victory since a 9-3 win over Navy in 1992.
The Bulldogs (12-4) outscored Penn State (12-5) 9-2 in the second half.

NCAA DIVISION I LACROSSE TOURNAMENT
Yale at Penn State
When: Today, 2:30 P.M.
TV: ESPNU
Records: Yale 11-4; Penn State 12-4

Yale celebrates after winning
the Ivy League title last week

Scouting Yale: The Bulldogs are making their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. Yale earned a berth in the field by winning the Ivy League tournament last weekend at Ithaca, N.Y. The Bulldogs defeated Penn (9-6) and Princeton (12-8) in the tourney.Yale is a strong defensive squad having allowed as many as a dozen goals only once this season. Brandon Mangan leads Yale with 35 goals and Conrad Overbeck has 32.
Scouting Penn State: The Nittany Lions earned their first berth in the NCAA tournament since 2005 with an at-large bid after losing in the finals of the CAA tournament 11-10 to Towson. Penn St. appeared in the NCAA tournament in 2003 and 2005, but didn’t make it out of the first round. This season, the Lions turned in the most wins in school history (12), the longest winning streak (10) and their first undefeated conference campaign.
Up next: The winner of Saturday’s game will travel to Byrd Stadium in College Park, Md. to face the winner of the Syracuse-Bryant game. SU owns the overall No. 1 seed in the tournament. TJ Sanders has a team-leading 42 goals and Jack Forster has 40.
— Bill Cloutier

NEW HAVEN — Led by a slew of seniors, it is no surprise the Southern Connecticut State softball team is once again in the NCAA Division II softball tournament.
And, once again, Seymour’s Alyssa Downs is a big reason why.
“I’m real proud of what we’ve accomplished,” Downs said. “I’m a bit surprised at how much success we’ve had, but everything has come together.”

SCSU slugger Alyssa Downs

Downs was a big part of Southern’s run to the College World Series last season and hopes to carry her team back to the championship series again this year.
SCSU begins tourney play today at 2:30 p.m. in the East Regional against Caldwell College (43-10) at Molloy College in Rockville Center, N.Y.
The University of New Haven softball team also starts tourney play today. The No. 4 seed Chargers (36-13) will meet No. 5 Adelphi (38-17) at 3:30 p.m at LIU-Post.
“This year has been different,” Downs said.
“Last year we knew we had (standout pitcher Jayme Larson) on the mound. This year we don’t have that. The pitching has been great, but this year we knew we all had to contribute and we’ve done it like that.”
Downs leads the seventh-seeded Owls (31-20) with a .314 average, 10 homers and 38 RBIs. Named an All-American as a junior, Downs was named to the Northeast-10 Conference First Team along with teammate Brittany Bucko. Bucko, also an All-American as a junior, has six homers and 23 RBIs this season.
“It’s been great playing with Brittany,” Downs said.
“She’s a great person and a great player. You don’t know what to expect from her. She does something every game.”
Downs is one of six seniors on the team and will graduate on May 17. She said softball has been such a big part of her life it will be sad when her final tournament comes to an end.
“Playing softball has helped motivate me,” Downs said.
“It’s hard playing softball and going to college. The first year was very hard, but then you learn how to manage your time.”
Downs has 11 home runs in NCAA play and heads the senior class that won its 150th game in last week’s NE-10 tourney.
Over the last four years, the group, which also includes Stacy Pouliot, Kate Hoffman and Kristin Whitley, is 151-67 with four NCAA tournament appearances and two conference titles.
Southern is 0-2 against Caldwell this season.
“The first game we played them was close, but we kind of got blown out in the second,” Downs said.
“But we weren’t hitting then and we have a lot of confidence now. We always play well in the tournament.”

This comes from Register staffer Mary Albl

NEW HAVEN — Typical to the type of person he is, Yale’s Dylan Levings wasn’t fond of all the glitz and glamor that resulted from him being named MVP of the Ivy League lacrosse tournament.
“It was cool momentarily, but the pictures and stuff kind of scared me,” Levings said. “I didn’t really like that as much.”
What he did like was hoisting another trophy and a securing a repeat trip to the NCAA tournament for his team.
The Bulldogs (11-4, 4-2 Ivy) defeated Penn 9-6 last Friday and then beat Princeton 12-8 on Sunday for the Ivy League title. They now travel to Penn State (12-4, 6-0 CAA) for an NCAA tournament first-round matchup with the 13th-seeded Nittany Lions at 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU) on Saturday.
Levings, a junior environmental engineering major, is tabbed as an eccentric individual by his team. He may be a little different, but maybe that’s why his role for the Bulldogs fits him. Levings is the team’s faceoff specialist; a position that many aren’t well-versed in, but one that is so critical to the squad’s success.
“He’s always been exceptional,” head coach Andy Shay said of Levings. “We coach him a little bit, but we try not to screw him up too much.”
This past weekend, Levings won 11 of 17 faceoffs against Penn and then put on a clinic against Princeton. He controlled the game from start to finish, winning 19 of 23 faceoffs, including his first 12 of the game. He also finished with 13 groundballs.
“What he did this weekend was almost unheard of,” junior attacker Brandon Mangan said. “He absolutely dominated the tournament and it means a lot for our offense having so many possessions.”
The heart of Levings’ job is to secure ball possession for Yale. He doesn’t score and won’t be the offensive hero in any game. But his job description is the definition of toughness. He fights tooth and nail and goes stick to stick with his opponent for the ball only to pass off to a teammate that sets up the offense.
“It’s a wrestling match and I like the physical contact,” Levings said.
Shay, who recruited Levings specifically for the role, knew exactly what he was getting. Levings, who played high school lacrosse at Plainedge in Massapequa, N.Y., explained when he first started the sport, he was thrust into the role because he was the strongest. His 5-foot-10, 185-pound frame fits the position to a T.
“I’m short, I’m not tall,” Levings said with a laugh. “It’s good in faceoffs. Same thing when you’re playing line in football; low man wins, lower is better. It’s the only position that I think it’s good to be short; short and strong.”
Levings has since immersed himself in the art of faceoffs. He watches film and does individual workouts. His routine doesn’t follow the typical pattern of his teammates.
“I do a lot of stair running,” he said. “A lot of faceoff is strong legs, pushing people off, so I do extra legs workouts. I can only take a faceoff so many times in practice. I just try to stay healthy and work hard.”
Currently he ranks seventh in the nation in faceoff percentage (.607) and is sixth in groundballs per game (7.93). As a team, Yale is fifth in faceoff percentage.
The Bulldogs will be facing a tough task on Saturday, taking on the No. 2-ranked defense in the country. The Nittany Lions are only allowing 7.44 goals a game and goalie Austin Kaut is second in the nation with a .612 save percentage.
Shay knows the little things make all the difference between a win and loss and advancing to the next round.
“If it’s a close game, then every little possession counts,” Levings said. “We try and out-groundball every team we play. I like to go out there and say it doesn’t matter and we win by 15, but I try to play like we always need every possession.”

Yale broke a 6-6 tie with five straight goals in the third quarter to defeat Princeton 12-8 in the Ivy League men’s lacrosse tournament championship game at Ithaca, N.Y., on Sunday.

Yale celebrates its second
straight Ivy League championship.

The Bulldogs (11-4) defeated the Tigers in the title game for the second straight year and earned the automatic bid into the NCAA championship field of 16.

The Bulldogs will play at No. 8 seed Penn State in the first round of the NCAA on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
Nine different Bulldogs scored, including two goals each by Conrad Oberbeck, Brandon Mangan and Kirby Zdrill. Eric Natale recorded 10 saves, eight in the second half.
Tom Schreiber had four points for the Tigers on two goals and two assists.
Yale’s Dylan Levings was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. He was dominant on faceoffs on Sunday, winning 19 or 23.
Princeton (9-6) scored the first two goals before Yale regrouped and reeled off six straight by six different players. The Bulldogs led 6-3 at the half. After Princeton opened the second half with three goals to tie the game, Yale came back with five in row, including two goals from Oberbeck.
Oberbeck, Peter Johnson, Natale and Michael McCormack joined Levings on the All-Ivy tournament team.
Yale is the first school to win a pair of Ivy League postseason championships.

Christina Gelardi hit a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning for the University of New Haven softball team, but the Chargers’ rally attempt fell short in a 4-3 loss to Adelphi in the championship game of the Northeast-10 Conference tournament Saturday at Manchester, N.H.
The Chargers trailed 4-0 after one inning.

Christina Gelardi

Lucy Francisco hit a run-scoring single in the sixth inning to put New Haven on the board.
Brandy Dianno, Jess Spivey and Keri Tricinelli also had hits for the Chargers (36-13), who were playing in their first NE-10 tournament championship final.
New Haven, recently ranked No. 4 in the NCAA Division II East Region Rankings, now waits for the selection show, which will air tonight at NCAA.com. The Chargers, likely to receive an at-large bid, are hoping to advance to their fifth NCAA tournament in the last six years.
 Gelardi was named the Northeast-10 Conference Softball Player of the Year, as announced by the league office Thursday. The senior is joined by six others who were named to All-NE-10 teams.
Second baseman Lucy Francisco and pitcher Micah Stonesifer both were second-team honorees while Jess Spivey and Keri Tricinelli were named to the third team. Freshmen Nicole King and Jen Palase were both named to the all-rookie team.
The nation’s leader in on-base percentage, Gelardi currently boasts some of the best numbers in all of collegiate softball. The Derby native also ranks sixth in runs per game, 11th in batting average and 15th in walks in all of Division II.
Francisco, who has started 46 games, boasts a .338 batting average with the team’s second-most RBIs (37). She also has scored 32 runs and has 20 extra-base hits through the end of the regular season.
Stonesifer leads the team with a 15-6 record and a 1.41 earned run average in the circle. She’s thrown 14 complete games, including four shutouts. This is the second year-end conference honor for the Archer City, Texas, native in her two seasons at UNH.
At first base, Spivey has anchored the Chargers with a .322 batting average in 38 starts. She drove in 29 runs with 12 extra-base hits. The sophomore has also scored 21 runs and has 245 putouts with a .996 fielding percentage.
Tricinelli, the Chargers’ DH, is hitting .333 this season with 33 RBIs. She has 45 hits and 16 runs.
Another pitching weapon, King has posted an 11-5 record with a 2.61 ERA in her freshman season. She’s fanned a team-high 119 batters while holding opponents to a .203 average.
Palase started 40 games in her rookie campaign and is currently third on the team with a .358 batting average. The Staten Island native has also driven in 17 runs and scored another 20 this season.
New Haven begins its postseason run Thursday night at 7 p.m. in Manchester, N.H., in the second round of the NE-10 championship tournament against Stonehill. The winning team will advance to the semifinals on Friday night against host Southern New Hampshire at 7 p.m.

This comes from staffer Henry Chisholm

University of New Haven All-American quarterback Ryan Osiecki said he was invited to the New England Patriots rookie mini camp and will have a chance to play for a contract.
“It’s an introduction to the playbook and there are 12 hour days, a lot of on the field stuff and a lot of meeting room stuff,” Osiecki said.
The quarterback, who passed for 1,550 yards and 16 touchdowns last season, said he thinks he might be the only quarterback who was invited. He said he will find out in the coming days.
“They didn’t draft any and I checked, they didn’t sign any either,” he said. “As far as my odds go, I’m the only one going, unless they invite other quarterbacks.”
Osiecki joins defensive lineman Raheem Stanley and wide receiver Jason Thompson, who will both attend mini camps.
Stanley was invited to the Kansas City Chiefs camp and Thompson agreed to a three-year contract with the Washington Redskins, according to their agent Tom Kline.
“I’m still in shock a little bit,” Thompson said. “It’s a dream. It’s a dream come true.”
Meanwhile, Stanley said he is proud of his fellow Chargers and looking forward to mini camp.
“I can’t even put into words how proud I am,” he said. “Jason is one of the greatest players I’ve ever seen and Ryan, his arm is ridiculous. I’m happy for both of them to get a chance to live their dreams.”

This comes from staffer Chip Malafronte


Tim Taylor, whose legendary coaching career included three decades at Yale and dedicated service to USA Hockey, died Saturday after a long battle with cancer. He was 71.
His passing comes exactly two weeks after Yale won its first national championship. He had been active at the international level through January, when he served as director of player personnel for the U.S. Junior National Team, which won gold at the World Junior Championships in Russia.
Taylor was regarded as one of the country’s finest teachers of the game, a man who coached with class and dignity.

“God bless Tim Taylor and his family,” said former U.S. Olympic goalie Jim Craig via Twitter. “He made me a better man. We will miss him.”
A star at Harvard in the early 1960s, where he later served as an assistant, Taylor was hired as Yale’s head coach in 1976. He coached 28 seasons in New Haven, winning more games (337) than any coach in the 117-year history of the program.
Taylor’s dream was to play in the Olympics. He was one of the final two U.S. players cut for the 1964 team, receiving the news the same weekend John F. Kennedy was assassinated. He tried out again unsuccessfully in 1968, which led to the start of his 43-year coaching career.
See Hockey, C3
Continued from C1
Taylor achieved his Olympic goal as a coach. He was an assistant for Team USA in 1984 and head coach of the 1994 team that competed in Lillehammer, Norway.
“I look at the Olympic job as the pinnacle of the coaching profession,” Taylor told the Register on the day he was awarded the position by USA Hockey in 1992. “To have the honor of coaching our nation’s team is something I have great respect for.”
At Yale, he sent players to the Olympics, the NHL and coaching ranks. Current Yale coach Keith Allain played for Taylor in the late 1970s and owes his coaching career to his former mentor.
“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, and Tim called me up and said, ‘I think you should come back and coach,’” Allain said shortly after Yale won the national title two weeks ago. “The boost of confidence that gave me, I’m thinking, ‘Geez, if Tim Taylor thinks I can coach, maybe I can coach.’”
Yale won six Ivy League titles and, in his finest season, captured the 1998 ECAC championship. Taylor’s final win at Yale was a five-overtime thriller in the ECAC playoffs at Union, at the time the longest game in men’s college hockey history.
ECAC Hockey renamed its coach of the year award for Taylor in 2007.
A longtime Guilford resident, where he lived with his wife, Diana, he remained active after Yale as a professional scout and as an administrator with USA Hockey.

University of New Haven receiver Jason Thompson and defensive lineman Raheem Stanley signed an undrafted free agents with Washington and Kansas City respectively.
Thompson had 44 catches for 881 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Former UConn receiver Michael Smith posted on his Twitter account that he has signed with Houston while SNY is reporting that former Bunnell High star Mark Harrison, a receiver out of Rutgers, signed with the Chicago Bears.

The Ivy League has partnered with NeuLion, Inc. to create the conference’s first-ever digital sports network.  Available to subscribers in August, The Ivy League Digital Network will be accessible on multiple devices, including PCs, smartphones and tablets, allowing for an all-new nine (9)-channel network of Ivy League action anytime, anywhere. Each of the conference's eight (8) schools will have their own individual channel and the Ivy League will have its own League-wide channel featuring all available digital content across the conference. The new network, powered by the NeuLion College Platform, will provide live and on-demand video and audio content from each school with interactive touch points that will consistently offer a personalized experience for Ivy League fans everywhere.   "It's not just about streaming video," said Chris Wagner, EVP and Co-Founder of NeuLion. "It's about the fan experience, the high quality video on any device, and the interaction with the game or match which includes stats, social media and more. The NeuLion College Platform is designed for all of that, each and every time, no matter where Ivy League fans are."