Men's Lacrosse: Laxers fall to Crimson

For the first time in 20 years, Harvard managed to get the better of the men’s lacrosse team, as the Crimson (6-5 overall, 2-3 Ivy League) defeated No. 6 Princeton (9-3, 4-1) 11-8 on Saturday afternoon in Cambridge, Mass. The Harvard victory was a momentous event for the Crimson faithful for plenty of reasons: The win came in front of nearly 3,000 fans during Senior Day; it marked the first time this season that the Crimson has knocked off a top-10 team; and it keeps Harvard alive in the chase for a spot in the inaugural four-team Ivy League tournament.

But Princeton’s silver lining is nothing to scoff at. Though 19 years of bragging rights over Harvard as well as the possibility of an unbeaten run in the Ancient Eight disappeared with the loss, the match that was taking place simultaneously in Ithaca, N.Y., yielded a favorable outcome for the Tigers. Brown’s 13-10 triumph over Cornell meant that for the second consecutive season, Princeton has clinched at least a share of the regular season Ivy League title.

Though the overall Ivy League scenario might currently favor Princeton, the Tigers struggled to improve their prospects for the approaching league tournament with their play on Saturday. Princeton, in characteristic fashion, found itself trailing early in the competition and was unable to string together enough offensive opportunities in the second half to come away with a win.

Nearly seven minutes had elapsed in the first quarter before Harvard broke the stalemate when attackman Kevin Vaughan put the Crimson on the scoreboard. Freshman midfielder Jeff Froccaro won the ensuing faceoff for the Tigers, and after two minutes of working the ball around its attacking end, Princeton earned an equalizer off the stick of junior attackman Jack McBride. McBride currently leads the Tigers with 27 goals and 37 points.

Harvard attackman Dean Gibbons — one of the Crimson’s most dangerous offensive weapons — and sophomore midfielder Mike Grossman traded goals to make the score 2-2, but the back end of the second quarter was all Harvard. Midfielder Jason Duboe gave the Crimson a one-goal lead with six minutes, 26 seconds remaining in the quarter. Midfielder Andrew Pataki capitalized on a Tiger turnover 30 seconds later to increase the lead to two, and with 4:40 to go, attackman Peter Schwartz made it 5-2, Harvard.

It appeared as though Princeton was on the verge of making a comeback before heading into the locker room, as senior attackman Rob Engelke and freshman midfielder Mike Chanenchuk teamed up on a man-advantage goal with just over three minutes remaining. Chanenchuk scored again two minutes later — his 24th goal of the season, which put him one shy of the school record for most goals by a freshman in a single season — but Crimson midfielder Terry White spoiled the Tigers’ hopes by reinstating a two-goal lead 16 ticks before time expired.

Nineteen seconds into the third quarter, Crimson attackman Jeff Cohen capitalized on a turnover committed by sophomore defenseman Chad Wiedmaier to give Harvard a 7-4 advantage. The ability of the Crimson to quickly rebound after an offensive push by the Tigers proved the difference in the game. Though Princeton would enjoy a 25-12 advantage in shots during the second half, Harvard’s opportunistic offense and staunch defense ensured that the Crimson would come away with the win.

An action-packed fourth quarter saw Princeton goals from senior midfielder Scott MacKenzie, Engelke and Froccaro. But Vaughan rounded out a hat trick late in the fourth quarter, scoring with 7:47 and 3:44 remaining, to give the Crimson a lead that proved insurmountable in the waning minutes.

As it stands, Princeton is the only team that has secured a spot in the Ivy League tournament, whose outcome determines the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Though multiple possibilities remain that could produce a two-way, three-way or even four-way share of the regular season league championship, all that concerns Princeton is overcoming Cornell this weekend. Saturday’s stakes will be high, as a win for the Tigers would give them outright possession of the Ivy League title, but the possibility for a little revenge also hangs in the balance: The last time the Tigers faced the Big Red was in the quarterfinals of the 2009 NCAA tournament, where Princeton was narrowly defeated, 6-4.

Princeton will host Cornell at Class of 1952 Stadium on Saturday at 5 p.m.