With 3:06 remaining in the first half against Penn, Yale midfielder Dan Kallaugher recovered a faceoff at midfield, took about five steps, then launched a bullet from 25 yards out that sailed past Penn goalie Greg Klossner before he could react.
The goal gave the Yale men's lacrosse team an insurmountable 8-2 lead and pretty much summed up the course of events during the Quakers' lopsided 15-7 defeat.
The Elis (2-1, 1-0 Ivy) came out firing early and never let the Quakers (1-4, 0-1) into the game. With three players combining for 11 goals, Yale outhustled the Red and Blue from the opening faceoff and handed the Quakers their worst Ivy loss under third-year coach Brian Voelker.
"We just didn't play well," Voelker said. "Give Yale a lot of credit ... They played harder than we did, they looked like they wanted it more than we wanted it."
The loss snapped the Quakers' seven-game home winning streak dating back to last season. The stretch had propelled Penn to its first undefeated home campaign since 1987 and the team's first NCAA Tournament birth since 1989.
But when the Quakers stepped onto Franklin Field for the first time this season, they were clearly overmatched by a stronger and quicker Yale squad.
"From the opening whistle, we looked like we weren't prepared, we looked like we weren't ready to play," Voelker said. "It's gonna be a long day when you play like that."
Yale freshman goalie George Carafides kept Penn at bay, holding the Quakers scoreless until six minutes into the second period. The rookie from nearby Upper Darby, Pa., who was averaging 12 saves entering Saturday's contest, finished with 10 saves on the day.
"Carafides played really well," Yale coach Andy Shay said. "He kinda bailed us out in the first quarter a little bit."
Voelker agreed, but noted that the stellar play of Yale's freshman netminder, who has started all of the Elis' games this season, was not the only thing troubling the Quakers.
"He had a bunch of saves, especially early in the game. Part of it was that I think we shot pretty poorly, but part of it was that he did a very good job."
While Penn struggled on offense in the first half, Yale scored five straight goals to open the game.
The Quakers finally got on the board when junior D.J. Andrzejewski scored off an assist from classmate Alan Eberstein with 9:18 remaining before halftime.
But the Elis halted any hopes of a Quakers comeback by playing their most aggressive offense of the game in the second period, tallying six goals to take a commanding 9-2 lead into the locker room.
The Elis' hustle was especially evident during the second period, as Yale collected 13 groundballs to the Quakers' five.
And even though Penn was able to put up the same number of shots (34) as the Elis, Yale's attackers were clearly getting the better looks on offense.
"We talked about possessing the ball and finishing our shots and getting after the groundballs," Shay said. "I think we were able to challenge just about every groundball that went down."
By the end of the third period, three Yale players -- David Schecter, Colin Neville and Seth Goldberg -- had hat tricks. Neville and Goldberg went on to lead the Elis with four goals each.
Andrzejewski led the Quakers once again in scoring, with three goals and an assist to his credit. But the Quakers' other starting attackers -- junior James Riordan and sophomore Luke Wilson -- were held scoreless.
After the game, Shay attributed his team's dominant performance over the Red and Blue to its longer preparation time between games. While Yale had been off for a week prior to Saturday's contest, Penn had just finished a four-game road schedule.
The Quakers "had just finished a long trip, they had very little time to prepare," Shay said. "We had a week ... and that makes it tough, especially when all our emphasis is on them, and all their emphasis is on us for two days."
The Quakers will have the same amount of time to prepare for their next opponent, as they try to bounce back against Bucknell tomorrow night at Franklin Field.
