Harvard To Play In Season Finale

In a final Ivy showdown, Harvard men’s lacrosse will host Dartmouth to end the 2008 season Saturday at 1 p.m. in Harvard Stadium.

Hot off a 11-9 win over Princeton, who is currently tied with Cornell and Brown at the top of the Ivy League, the Big Green will roll into town with confidence to spare.

In the Crimson’s last home game back on April 12, Princeton came from behind to win 9-8 in overtime. Harvard led 7-4 at the opening of the final quarter before a deluge of Tiger scoring and actual rain, literally and figuratively dampened the Crimson’s spirits.

Last weekend against Yale junior starting goalie Joe Pike was sidelined by a thumb injury sustained in practice. Senior tri-captain Evan O’Donnell stepped in to face the Bulldogs and recorded nine saves.

“We have the luxury of starting one or the other or using both,” Harvard coach John Tillman said. “It’s helpful knowing Joe will be available. But Evan certainly played well last week. It’s a matter of what we want to do,”

In goal for Dartmouth is sophomore Mike Novosel, a powerhouse in his own right. Novosel was named Ivy Player of the Week last week after making 16 saves in a dramatic win against Princeton.

“Their goalie is certainly playing well, hopefully an area that both teams going in are pretty strong,” Tillman said. “We’ll need to shoot good shots and finish our shots as he’ll come in with a lot of confidence.”

The Big Green squad also features dangerous senior midfielder Chad Gaudet who won 20 of 34 face offs, scored once, and picked up 10 ground balls against Yale a little over two weeks ago. Against Princeton Gaudet picked up 12 of 22 faceoffs.

Faceoff dominance has long been a critical factor of the Crimson’s game as possession time can make or break any team’s game plan. Gaudet comes to the X with a long stick, a rare choice in men’s lacrosse.

“You don’t see that very often,” Tillman said of Gaudet’s approach. “We actually have seen some high school kids playing that way this year. It’s always an option but usually not your number one option. He’s done a good job for them and surely is a great athlete.”

“Unfortunately [freshman midfielder Christian] Oberbeck just had a season ending injury,” Harvard sophomore Jason Duboe added while considering the Crimson options at the X. “But [junior midfielder] Nick Smith and [Freshman midfielder Andrew] Parchman are fully capable of controlling the faceoff. Even though they have a great guy we can [definitely] neutralize them at the X. [Assistant] Coach Kelly has done a good job preparing us.”

If Harvard has an advantage it comes from playing at home. So far the Crimson is 2-2 at home and 4-5 on the road. Meanwhile Dartmouth boasts a 5-1 record in Hanover but has won just once on the road all year.

No matter how the game turns out it will be a special day for Harvard’s senior class of Zach Carpenter, Josh Freiberger, Liam Griff, Nick La Fiura, O’Donnell, Brooks Scholl, Ted Skowronski and Zach Widbin who will all be playing in their last game.

Captains La Fiura, Scholl and O’Donnell’s leadership has been a palpable force all season and Widbin has made his mark on the turf scoring eight goals and offering up seven assists, leaving him 6th in the overall point total.

“Widbin has been a steady guy throughout his four years,” Duboe said of Widbin. “He doesn’t get enough credit.” He’s a little less vocal but he leads in the right way in terms of his actions on the field and in practice. He’s helped my decision making process on the field so much. He’s definitely going to be missed.”

“It’s the last time they’ll put on a Harvard uniform and I’m sure it’ll be a very emotional day for them,” Tillman added. “We want to send out the seniors in style. They’ve put a lot of time and effort into the program. We want to see a smile on their face after the game which is the best gift we could all give them.”

—Staff writer Elizabeth A. Joyce can be reached at eajoyce@fas.harvard.edu.