ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Cohen Continues To Rip Opposition

Lead team to victory. Check. Score a career-high number of goals. Check. Uphold the family lacrosse dynasty. Check. All in a day’s work for Harvard men’s lacrosse standout, freshman Jeff Cohen.

Cohen—who leads the Crimson in goals, points, shots and shots on goal—continued to make a name for himself this past Saturday during his team’s complete trouncing of the visiting Holy Cross Crusaders, 11-4.

The Syosset, N.Y. native scored six goals for then-No. 17 Harvard. Cohen’s tally marked a career-best for the freshman. This offensive explosion also raised Cohen’s total for the year up to 26 goals, and helped him earn this week’s commendation of Ivy League Rookie of the Week.

But for Cohen, this was just another day’s work.
“We played our offense the same way we always do,” Cohen said. “I had the help of my teammates. We didn’t do anything special—we just took the same approach we do to every game.”

Co-captain Max Motschwiller and the team have gotten used to this sort of outstanding play from Cohen.

“[Cohen’s] capable of doing that in every single game,” Motschwiller said. “He’s great at getting the shot and then putting them in the right spot.”

Cohen burst onto the collegiate lacrosse scene in the Crimson’s season opening upset over then-No. 5 Duke. The attackman filled in for pneumonia-plagued sophomore Dean Gibbons and registered a hat trick against the powerhouse Blue Devils. Cohen was awarded his first Ivy League Rookie of the Week designation for this performance.

Once the freshman standout began his trek down the road to Harvard lacrosse stardom, there was no turning back.

Cohen has consistently been a scoring threat for his team, netting five goals in his team’s matchup against Hartford and adding another four in the team’s heartbreaking loss to Cornell.

“He’s having an unbelievable year for anybody, [so] as a freshman, what he’s doing is wild,” Motschwiller said. “As far as goal scoring, the stats speak for themselves. He’s really stepped it up and worked hard.”

This past weekend was especially noteworthy for Cohen and his family. The attacker was the first Harvard player to tally six goals in one game since his brother, Greg, accomplished the task in 2007.

“My brother’s always been my biggest role model,” Cohen said. “To do something Greg did is really special.”

Cohen’s impressive scoring record is aided by an uncanny ability to adapt to any given situation. This past Saturday was no exception, with the attacker switching to a lower shot in response to a Holy Cross goaltending weakness.

“We watched some film, and we talked to [Cohen] about some things that he could do, and he adjusted well,” Coach Tillman said after the contest against the Crusaders. “He tweaked where he was putting the ball and how he was shooting and I was impressed with that.”

Despite setting the bar remarkably high for himself in his Harvard lacrosse debut, Cohen has continued to make progress over the course of the season.
Cohen believes that getting to know his teammates and their style of play has been responsible for his greatest improvement—being in the right spot at the right time.

“You know the way everyone’s going to move,” Cohen said. “It’s definitely a maturity thing in that regard.”

Apart from Cohen’s athletic prowess, the attacker’s attitude both on and off the turf has made him a model player for coaches and teammates alike.
Motschwiller notes that Cohen’s love for the game is both evident and inspiring in every situation.

“[Cohen’s] the guy who’s always having a good time playing,” Motschwiller said. “He rarely ever gets down on himself or upset, [and] when he’s scoring five goals a game, he’ll still be very humble and even-keeled…It’s very refreshing.”

Cohen and the Crimson will be back in action this coming Saturday against Yale in the team’s last home game of the season.

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