WEB UPDATE: Harvard Gets Sweet Revenge in Ivy Opener

The No. 16 Harvard men’s lacrosse team had revenge on its mind as it opened Ivy League play against Penn at Harvard Stadium yesterday. Last season, a 12-10 loss to the Quakers sparked a six game losing streak that spoiled the Crimson’s season. Harvard (4-1, 1-0 Ivy) got its payback yesterday, beating Penn (1-4, 0-2) convincingly, 11-4.

“Today’s game was redemption, getting back at them for last year,” freshman attacker Terry White said. “[Last season] we lost to Penn, and after that it was five losses and the beginning of our downfall. We really wanted to change it this year and go in the opposite direction at this point of the season.”

White would be the standout on the afternoon, notching a career-high two goals. His first score was the Crimson’s initial goal of the game. With Harvard trailing 1-0, junior midfielder Dave Dobrosky found White on the left wing where the freshman ripped a shot past Quaker goaltender Joe Hegener.

White’s goal set off a deluge of first period scores from which Penn would never recover. One minute after the Crimson tied the score, junior attacker Travis Burr gathered the ball in the middle of the offensive zone where he split the defense, sprinted towards the goal, and buried a close range shot.

After Harvard won the ensuing faceoff, senior midfielder Nick Smith fought off defenders as he raced down the left sideline. Smith shoveled a pass to sophomore midfielder Christian Oberbeck, who bounced a shot into the top of the net to give the Crimson a 3-1 lead.

Minutes later, sophomore attacker Dean Gibbons carried the ball behind the goal and found senior defenseman Eric Posner cutting in front of the net. Posner caught the ball and one-timed it past Hegener for the score.

Harvard notched its final goal of the period just before time expired. This time, junior midfielder Jason Duboe assisted freshman attacker Jeff Cohen, who received the ball directly in front of the net and snuck it into the goal with two seconds remaining.

Neither side scored in the second period, sending the Crimson into halftime with a 5-1 lead. Harvard held an 18-12 advantage in shots and a 12-10 edge in groundballs while winning the turnover battle, 9-7.

Senior goaltender Joe Pike made three of his four saves in the first half on what would be a relatively easy day between the pipes.

“Our defense played great,” Pike said. “We barely had the ball down there.”

Penn tried to rally in the second half, scoring two goals early in the third period to cut the lead to 6-3. However, White answered with his second goal of the night when he shook his defender and fired a lefty shot into the bottom of the net.

“I was lucky enough to get the first goal,” White said. “After that I was a little more confident taking the ball to the net.”

Towards the end of the third period, another freshman, Cohen, extended the lead. Again assisted by Duboe, Cohen received the ball wide-open on the right side of the goal where he buried the shot. It was his team-leading 11th tally on the season.

“Those guys have a lot of potential as we’re starting to see,” Harvard coach John Tillman said of the two freshmen. “We need it right now. We’re hoping that some of these young guys can help us win key games, and those two guys stepped up for us.”

Harvard finished the game on a 3-1 run, including two goals from Duboe and one from Gibbons. The Crimson ultimately outshot the Quakers 40-18 en route to an 11-4 victory.

“I’m happy for our guys to start off and get a league win off the get-go; it’s really important,” Tillman said.

—Staff writer Timothy J. Walsh can be reached at twalsh@fas.harvard.edu.