Harvard Seeks To Get Back On Winning Track

Tonight, the Harvard men’s lacrosse team will face Hartford (0-3) as it attempts to bounce back from a disappointing loss last weekend when the Crimson dropped a 7-3 contest to then-No. 19/17 Massachusetts.

“After a tough loss—and one that we only have ourselves to blame for—we’re all hungry to get out and get after somebody,” co-captain Sam Slaughter wrote in an e-mail.

No. 16/15 Harvard (2-1) looks to earn its first win at home this season after starting out 2-0 on the road, including a shocking win over then-No. 7/5 Duke.

The season-opening upset marked Crimson coach John Tillman’s first victory over a top-10 opponent since taking over the program last year.

In their last meeting, Harvard coasted to an 11-2 victory against the Hawks.

Junior midfielder Jason Duboe led the Crimson with three goals in the game and sophomore attacker Dean Gibbons recorded a goal and two assists.

Harvard enters the match-up looking to play the kind of game it did against the Blue Devils and avoid the mistakes that cost the squad last week versus the Minutemen.

“We want to get back to simple things and fundamentals,” said Tillman. “We have gone back to the basics.”

Thus far in 2009, Hartford has suffered a pair of overtime defeats.

Last week’s thriller against Sacred Heart featured a game-winning goal in the opening seconds of overtime, and in the season opener, the Hawks fell to Dartmouth in the final seconds of sudden-death.

“We are young, so, despite losses, guys are still positive and excited about…[the] season,” Hartford coach Peter Lawrence wrote in an email. “[I am] very impressed with Harvard so far this season…They play very hard, are disciplined, great on [ground balls], and have a bunch of great players.”

Even though the Hawks are still searching for their first win, the Crimson cannot afford to take them lightly.

“We only play 12 games. Each one is really important,” Tillman said. “Anyone can beat anyone on any given day, and if we don’t come ready, we are leaving our team vulnerable.”

The lingering question for Harvard is whether it can recover from last week’s poor offensive performance. Against UMass, the Crimson was able to convert only three of its 39 shots for goals.

“We tried to make plays that weren’t really there,” said Tillman. “We want to take the best shot available, not the first shot available.”

Despite the lack of offense against the Minutemen, Gibbons has provided a spark to the attack thus far. After missing the opener, Gibbons has scored six goals in two games.

Duboe, an All-Ivy First Team selection last season, also looks to add to the offense. The junior has scored in each of the first two games.

Not only must Harvard improve its offense from last week, the defense must also recover after letting up a season-high seven goals.

“We have a lot of confidence in our defensive personnel,” said Tillman. “There’s a lot of experience, leadership, and talent down there.”

Behind the defense, senior goalie Joe Pike has been a key to the Crimson’s success. Tonight, he hopes to match his 10-save performance against Hartford last season.

Against Duke, he stopped an impressive nine shots, followed by a six save game against Stony Brook.

Last week, however, he could only block three attempts while giving up seven goals to the Minutemen.

“We asked [Pike] to bring a little more energy to the table this year,” said Tillman. “If he can do that, our guys around him will pick up and feed off of that.”

A convincing win in this game will help Harvard build momentum leading up to its first Ivy-league match-up of the year against Penn and then its upcoming games against ranked opponents Georgetown and Cornell.

On the other hand, a loss to Hartford may lead critics to believe the upset in Durham was a fluke.

“Nobody in our locker room is thinking past Friday,” Slaughter wrote. “We want to get a win and wash out the taste of last weekend.”