NOTEBOOK: Nerves, Slow Start Hamper Men's Lax

Was it the TV coverage? Senior Day? The rivalry? Or the pressure of potentially ending the season sub-.500?

Whatever the cause, Harvard did not come ready to play on Saturday in a 9-8 loss to Yale. The squad did not manage its first shot until nearly 10 minutes had passed—by that point the Bulldogs already had three of their four first-quarter goals. Yale took nine shots to the Crimson’s two in that frame.

For a team that prides itself on its ability to handle the ball and be patient, the most surprising aspect of the game was Harvard’s lack of control. The Crimson could not seem to hold onto the ball even when the closest defender was five yards away. Open passes were routinely overthrown, as many of the miscues came from simple inaccuracy. Harvard piled up 11 turnovers in the first half and 21 overall.

“Some of it is nerves—when we came out we were really excited—but we play best when we’re loose,” co-captain Brian Mahler said. “When we don’t know what’s going on...guys get nervous, start standing around, we get down a couple of goals, all those things get in our head and cause the turnovers.”

Although the Bulldogs did not fare much better, posting 10 turnovers in the first half and 20 overall, their errors came at less key times. Harvard’s unforced errors, on the other hand, continually occurred just outside the crease when scoring opportunities were imminent.

“That was a fluke today—usually we have guys that can really handle the stick,” co-captain John Henry Flood said. “Rainy week this week, the sticks were tight. I think with the intensity of this week guys were a little nervous, including myself.”

“Physically I think we were even [with Yale], mentally I don’t think we were,” he added.

SENIOR CITIZENS

Nine Harvard players took the field with their parents to be honored before the game—their last at home in a Crimson uniform—as the men’s lacrosse class of 2007. And after all the flowers and congratulations, most of the seniors’ celebrations did not end.

The offensive core of Greg Cohen, Evan Calvert, and co-captain Brian Mahler contributed to all but one of the Crimson’s eight goals. Each posted a three-point day with two goals and one assist.

Cohen started things off for the seniors with the first score of the game and netted another unassisted score, his 15th of the season, to bring Harvard within three at 8-5.

Calvert would not be outdone. Although he had an unlucky miss off the post early on, he notched an early assist and sent one of his two goals into the back of the net on a pass from Cohen from behind the cage.

Mahler rounded out the senior attack, posting the assist to make it 9-7 as well as the Crimson’s eighth and final goal of the game. He had an opportunity to tie it with less than 10 seconds left, but a check from a Yale defender ended his hopes to cap the impossible comeback with a last-second goal.

“That’s sort of representative of their efforts the whole season: exert leadership, carry the load, set an example, all the things you’d hope anyone in any aspect of life would do,” Harvard coach Scott Anderson said.

Flood dominated the faceoff X in what was pegged to be one of his tougher assignments of the year. Facing Bulldog junior Gregory DuBoff, the senior won 15 of 20 faceoffs, including seven of eight in the fourth quarter to give the Crimson a shot.

“We have the luxury as a team where if we are able to score goals we get the ball back right away because we are dominating faceoffs,” Anderson said. “Flood I think is the second-best faceoff player in the league.”

The biggest glitch came when senior Carle Stenmark was carted off the field after going down with an injury in the first quarter. Although he returned to the sidelines later in the game, he did not see any more action in his final game at the stadium. The lack of offensive production early on demonstrated how sorely Harvard missed him.

BITS AND PIECES

The loss was the Crimson’s first at Harvard Stadium. The team is now 3-1 in the facility.... Yale’s victory was its first against the Crimson in four years.... Stenmark’s injury was the third affecting the Harvard offense; sophomore Max Motschwiller and junior Zach Widbin were also sidelined.... Just one game separates Cornell from an undefeated season after it locked up its sixth Ivy League victory on Saturday against Brown.... The Crimson finishes the regular season at 6 p.m. on Satuday versus Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H.

—Staff writer Madeleine I. Shapiro can be reached at mshapiro@fas.harvard.edu.