After Tight First Quarter, Tigers Rout Men's Lacrosse

A once-promising season has regressed into a tailspin for the Harvard men’s lacrosse team, as the Crimson was routed 18-4 by No. 11 Princeton Saturday at Jordan Field.

Harvard (4-5, 0-4 Ivy) has now lost five in a row after a 4-0 start to the season.

In its four other losses, the Crimson stayed close to its opponent at least through halftime. On Saturday, Princeton (5-4, 2-1) put Harvard away with an eight-goal second period that opened up a 9-1 lead at intermission.

It was Harvard’s worst defeat since falling 15-1 at Princeton last year.

Ryan Boyle ignited the Tiger surge with four second-period goals and an assist. He would add four more assists in the second half, giving him a career-high nine points on the day and 34 for the season.

Boyle started the outburst with a goal 27 seconds into the second period, giving Princeton a 2-0 lead. Ten minutes later, the Tigers had piled seven more goals on the shell-shocked Crimson squad. Boyle would score his fourth goal at the 1:47 mark, completing a dominant offensive period in which 15 of Princeton’s 16 shots were on net.

Harvard junior midfielder Doug Logigan finally put the Crimson on the scoreboard with 1:16 left before halftime, but by then the game was already out of reach.

Harvard stayed with the favored Tigers through the first quarter. The Crimson outshot the Tigers 10-9 in that period, but the team could not convert on any of its chances and most of its shots missed the net.

Despite the lopsided score, Sophomore goaltender Jake McKenna had another solid outing for the Crimson. McKenna kept the Crimson close early, making six saves in the period while allowing just a single goal.

For the game, he stopped a remarkable 26 shots. He has now saved nearly 60 percent of the shots he has faced this season.

After failing to produce quality scoring chances in the first half, Harvard showed more life after intermission, as senior midfielder Derek Nowack and co-captain Micahel Baly added goals in the third period. Sophomore midfielder Alex Vapp gave the Crimson its fourth and final goal with 5:15 remaining in the game.

The Crimson was powerless to stop the Princeton attack, however. The Tigers tacked on four goals in the third period and five more in the fourth, as it easily beat the Crimson defense for quality scoring chances.

Harvard particularly struggled when playing shorthanded—the Crimson gave up goals on four of five Tiger extra-man opportunities.

Harvard’s search for a win will not get any easier this week. The Crimson travel to No. 8 UMass Wednesday and No. 14 Yale Saturday. The Bulldogs beat UMass Saturday and defeated Princeton earlier in the season.

Princeton 18, M. Lacrosse 4

at Jordan Field

Princeton (5-4, 2-1 Ivy) 1 8 4 5—18

Harvard (4-5, 0-4 Ivy) 0 1 2 1—4

Scoring: P Goals: Boyle 4, Daly 3, Tierney 3, Hartofilis 2, Dumont 2, White 1, Fallon 1. P Assists: Boyle 5, Daly 1, Tierney 1, Hartofilis 1. H Goals: Vap 1, Logigian 1, Nowak 1, Baly 1. H Assists: Vap 1. Shots: P 54, H 32. Saves: P Gold 15, H McKenna 26. Ground Balls: P 23, H 13. Faceoffs: P 10, H 15. Extra Man: P 4/5, H 0/3.