The Future Is Now

Here’s a simple formula for you: First, take last year’s Harvard men’s lacrosse team, which posted a 5-10 record. Next, subtract three of the team’s four recipients of All-Ivy honors. Now, what would you expect the Crimson’s record in 2004 to be?

If you said 7-5, with this Saturday’s home date against Dartmouth still pending, then you must have had the benefit of hearing the buzz about the class of 2007.

“[This freshman class] could be the best class ever,” said Harvard coach Scott Anderson. “It remains to be seen [what they will accomplish], but in terms of talent, it’s certainly one of the best, if not the best.”

Talent notwithstanding, the statistical accomplishments of this year’s freshmen have been impressive enough. Headlining the group is attackman Greg Cohen, who leads the team in points (26) and assists (15) and is fifth in goals (11). He is second among Ivy League rookies in points, trailing Princeton’s Peter Trombino by just one.

Cohen has started every game for the Crimson, a feat that only five players have accomplished this season. He’s also the only one of the five who is not a defenseman or a goalie.

“Greg is a very quick learner, so it didn’t take him very long to make an impact on the college game,” said junior attackman Mike McBride, who was praised by Cohen for his mentoring efforts.

“Even if Greg wasn’t fully developed, his physical skills—his speed and athleticism—put him over the top,” said Anderson. “The big variable is that you don’t know how they will adapt to the change in the level of competition.”

Cohen’s entrance into college lacrosse was eased by the experience he gained while playing for the U.S. Under-19 National Team in 2003 as well as for the Long Island Empire lacrosse team in 2002 and 2003. Cohen also credits his brother—sophomore attackman Steve Cohen—with helping him make a smooth transition.

“Steve’s year last year was basically my year this year,” said Greg. “We talked almost every day. He told me what to expect.”

While Greg’s accomplishments are impressive, they are far from the only contributions of a freshman class that features three of the top eight point scorers on the team.

Like Greg, Brian Mahler entered Harvard having played attack during his high school career. However, unlike Greg, Mahler found himself playing midfield for a majority of the season, due to injuries as well as an excess of talented attackmen.

Despite the difficulty of adjusting to a new position, Mahler has flourished. He has recorded nine goals and three assists, including a second-half hat trick in the Crimson’s 12-10 win over Brown on April 13th.

“We recruit offensive players,” said Anderson. “That’s how we think of them. Physically, Brian is more suited for midfield. He’s better at operating in space and he gets up and down the field well.”

“Brian is a great athlete, so I knew he’d have no problem switching [positions],” added Greg. “Maybe in the future he’ll be back at attack.”

Mahler credits tri-captain Jeff Gottschall with easing his transition to the new position.

“Jeff has been great at helping me and the other middies,” Mahler said. “He brings a calm, confident approach to the game. He’s been there before, and we know we can rely on him.”

A noteworthy member of these “other middies” is Mahler’s classmate, Evan Calvert. Calvert has eight goals and four assists to his credit while seeing a great deal of action on the team’s man-up offense, playing up top in the 3-3 setup.

“Evan’s strength is his ability to feed the ball with both hands and to make good decisions,” said Anderson. “He’s maybe the best on the team [at those things]. He’s held the man-up [unit] together.”

While these three are clearly the most prominent members of the freshman class, they are far from the only talented players in what is an extremely deep group.

Midfielder Adam Mahfouda has seen action in 11 games and is the fourth-leading scorer among the freshmen with four goals and two assists.

One player that didn’t see much action is midfielder Carle Stenmark, who possesses one of the hardest shots that captain Jake McKenna has ever faced, according to Anderson. The younger brother of tri-captain Spencer Stenmark tallied two goals in his first three games before suffering an ACL injury.

“[Carle’s injury] was very disappointing and frustrating for him and for the team,” Anderson said. “[However], you want to come out of the year knowing that you can succeed at this level, and Carle did that very quickly. He’s a real talent.”

Likewise, attackman Brandon Logigian—brother of former tri-captain Doug Logigian ’03—experienced early success with a goal and an assist in two games before succumbing to injury.

“Top to bottom, each freshman has done a great job,” said McBride.

The freshman class also includes midfielders P.J. Maglathlin, John Henry Flood and Dan Chung. Maglathlin has seen action in the majority of Harvard’s games and has an assist to his credit, while Flood and Chung are two-way players who each saw some time in the face-off circle for the Crimson this season.

Rounding out the class is the lone defenseman of the group, Justin Craig.

“Justin is a really hard worker,” said Anderson. “He’s definitely been a surprise.”

Though the freshmen have experienced a great deal of success thus far, the rookies have sometimes struggled with the difficulties inherent in making the transition from high school to college.

“[The biggest adjustment] has been the speed of the game,” said Calvert. “The slides [are quicker]. The defense comes at you so fast.”

Mahler echoed the sentiments of his classmate.

“The speed of the game [is the biggest change], physically and also mentally,” he said. “There’s more thinking and there’s less time to react. It’s more strategic.”

Greg Cohen offered up a different viewpoint.

“[Coming in], your reputation is nothing,” he said. “Everyone is an All-American. Everyone was the best player on their high school team. You’ve got to prove yourself again.”

Ultimately, only time will tell what specific impact that the class of 2007 will have. However, Anderson is confident that the impact will be a large one.

“We got a lot of adaptable guys,” he said. “Everyone in this class will end up contributing, and that’s rare. They’re great kids and they give our program energy.”

Regardless of what the future holds for this group of freshmen, for this season at least, they’ve been an integral part of the winning formula.

—Staff writer Jonathan P. Hay can be reached at hay@fas.harvard.edu.