WEB UPDATE: Back-and-Forth Play Ends in Harvard Overtime Loss to Hoyas

The excitement of a fast-paced, neck-and-neck contest. The thrill of scoring with only seconds remaining. The heartbreak of a sudden overtime loss.

No, this wasn’t an episode of Friday Night Lights or a made-for-TV college sports movie. This drama-filled endeavor was the beginning of the Harvard men’s lacrosse team’s spring break matchups.

The No. 13 Crimson clashed with Georgetown yesterday on the Hoyas home Multi-Sport Field, falling to its non-league opponent in overtime, 8-9. This painful loss dropped Harvard’s record to 4-2 (1-0 Ivy.)

“The game was hard fought,” said co-captain and defensive standout Max Gotschall. “Unfortunately we didn’t come out on the winning side.”

The Crimson constantly switching leads with the Hoyas, but the emotional rollercoaster reached its break point in the last minute of regulation play, with two high-pressure goals occurring in the very limited time frame.

As the clock wound down in the fourth quarter, with the two teams trapped in a 7-7 deadlock, Georgetown appeared to put a nail in the Crimson’s coffin. With only 53 seconds remaining, Hoyas’ Todd Cochran recorded an excruciating tally, giving Georgetown a last-minute advantage.

However, with defeat looming in the air, Harvard’s freshman superhero Jeff Cohen came to his team’s rescue.

“We needed someone to make a play,” said Cohen, who did just that.

Cohen shot an unassisted rocket into the back of the Hoyas net with only 22 seconds on the clock, sending the Crimson into overtime.

“It was just an extremely clutch goal,” co-captain Max Motschwiller said. “It was a gutsy play by [Cohen], and he’s been great for us all year.”

Harvard’s effort was also bolstered by the outstanding performance of senior goalkeeper Joe Pike. Pike recorded 12 saves during the contest, greatly limiting Georgetown’s 41 shots.

“Joe stood out,” Harvard coach John Tillman said. “He made some really big saves for us—he’s a senior force.”

Unfortunately, that force was not enough to put Harvard over the edge. Georgetown junior Ricky Mirabito scored at 1:19 in overtime, claiming the win for the Hoyas.

“Everyone could have done some things better,” Gotschall said. “We win as a team, lose as a team.”

The Crimson started off the match with a bang, with freshman Kevin Vaughan scoring from sophomore Christian Oberbeck only six seconds into the first period. Georgetown retaliated with two tallies, bringing the Hoyas into the lead, but Harvard tied up the game with only two seconds remaining in the quarter with an unassisted goal from Motschwiller.

The lead kept switching, as Georgetown recorded two more tallies towards the end of the second period, followed by an unassisted 2:33 score by sophomore Dean Gibbons and another unassisted goal, this time from senior Nick Sapia. The Crimson entered the locker room tied 4-4 at the end of the half.

The Hoyas opened the third quarter with a solitary goal, followed by Gibbons’ second unassisted tally of the game at 0:25. The Crimson kept their scoring streak going into the fourth period, as Travis Burr found the net thirty seconds into the quarter off of an assist from Gibbons.

Georgetown recorded three more tallies in the half, with Harvard evening up the score on another Burr unassisted goal and Cohen’s last-second endeavor.

“We just had to do a couple of little things better to win,” Motschwiller said. “We could have cleared the ball a little better, we gave away our possessions—in a one-goal game, all those little plays add up.”

The Crimson will have to overcome this disappointing loss as it looks forward to Friday’s matchup against Presbyterian.

“We’re going to have to let go of our disappointment, and take all that disappointment and turn it into motivation to try to win the next game,” Tillman said. “Bad things will happen—it’s what you do next.”

—Staff writer Alexandra J. Mihalek can be reached at amihalek@fas.harvard.edu.