Athlete of the Week: Matt Primm '03

With control of the ball in overtime against Notre Dame on Saturday, the Harvard men’s lacrosse team—seeking its biggest win of the year—knew exactly who it wanted to quarterback its attack.

The Fighting Irish also knew who Harvard would look to in this crucial situation. But they couldn’t do anything about it.

Three minutes into overtime, the Crimson got the ball to junior Matt Primm, the team’s leading goal scorer. Primm promptly faked out the Notre Dame defense and found the back of the net, capping Harvard’s come-from-behind 7-6 victory.

Primm’s game-winner was just one of his team-high seven points last week. He had already scored a goal and assist against the Irish, and he also had a pair of goals and assists in last Tuesday’s 16-5 blowout of Holy Cross.

After winning the faceoff to start overtime, the Crimson soon found Primm in his familiar spot behind the net. Harvard’s plan was for freshman Mike McBride or sophomore Jeff Gottschall to break free off a pick near the front of the net. Primm would then find the open man for the easy close-range shot.

Asking its top goal scorer to pass the ball in the game’s most crucial moments is nothing new for the Crimson—Primm leads the team in assists with 16.

But things have never come as easy as planned for Harvard this season. Notre Dame read the play well and prevented any Crimson player from getting open. The Fighting Irish also had its best defender on Primm, and it looked to be in good position to hold the Crimson scoreless.

But Notre Dame couldn’t account for Primm taking matters into his own hands. Reading the defense perfectly, Primm faked out his assigned defender, made a hard move toward the net and finished off the Irish.

Primm has been an offensive fixture for Harvard ever since his spectacular freshman year, when he finished with 38 goals and 14 assists.

After a 30-point sophomore season hampered by injury, Primm has emerged this year as the Crimson’s most potent scoring threat, leading the team in scoring with 33 points.

Primm’s accomplishments this season extend beyond Saturday’s heroics. Last weekend, in a close loss to Yale, Primm became just the 29th player to score 100 points in his Harvard career.

Just a junior, Primm figures to move well up the all-time scoring charts before he graduates. With more performances like Saturday’s, he’ll be carrying Harvard up the Ivy League standings next year as well.