No. 3 Big Red Sneaks by No. 13 Harvard in Tight Battle

The No. 13 Harvard men’s lacrosse team travelled to Ithaca, N.Y. on Saturday to face perennial powerhouse Cornell at Schoellkopf Field. The Crimson (5-3, 1-1 Ivy) built a two-goal lead midway through the third period but could not hold on, as four unanswered scores lifted the No. 3 Big Red (7-1, 3-0 Ivy) to an eventual 13-12 victory.

“We put forth a pretty good effort, but we made too many errors—sloppy errors,” co-captain Nick Smith said.

The pivotal stretch began with 6:12 left in the third period after senior defenseman Max Motschwiller sent a pass to teammate Jason Duboe on the right wing, where the junior midfielder was able to give Harvard an 11-9 lead.

Cornell responded in a little over a minute when Rocco Romero slipped a shot past Crimson goaltender Joe Pike. The Big Red knotted the score with just 32 seconds remaining in third period. Freshman Rob Pannell found Ryan Hurley from behind the net, one of his five assists on the day, feeding the junior five yards in front of the goal where he tied the score, 11-11.

Pannell and Hurley connected again with 11:12 remaining the final period to give the Big Red its first lead since the opening minutes. An unassisted tally by Chris Finn moments later provided some insurance for Cornell.

Harvard mounted a late rally, starting when Duboe assisted senior Travis Burr on a goal with 4:35 left in the match to cut the lead to one. A late turnover by the Big Red gave the Crimson a chance to tie the game with under a minute left in regulation. After calling a timeout to set up a play, the offense worked the ball around to freshman attacker Jeff Cohen. Cohen, who carried Harvard’s offense on the day, was denied by defenseman Andrew MacDonald, who blocked Cohen’s shot and cleared the ball, allowing Cornell to run out the remaining time.

Cohen led the Crimson attack with his four goals, giving the freshman a team-leading 17 scores on the season. Freshman attacker Terry White and junior midfielder Jason Duboe each added two of their own.

“Jeff is stepping up and being a leader,” sophomore attacker Dean Gibbons said.

Cohen, White, and Duboe helped Harvard build a 6-2 lead in the first period. The Big Red got back into the game thanks to its own triumvirate of scorers—Max Seibald and Finn registered four goals apiece and Hurley notched a hat trick as well.

“They have a really high-powered offense,” Smith said, “Especially Max Seibald. He’s big and strong and can shoot on the run with both hands.”

Cornell cut the margin to one by halftime and tied the game, 7-7, three minutes into the third period. Harvard jumped back on top, garnering a two-goal lead on Duboe’s goal midway through the frame, before the Big Red made its charge.

“Cornell is one of the best offenses in the country,” Gibbons said. “I thought our defense did a pretty good job on them.”

Throughout the game, the Big Red’s attack challenged Pike. Cornell had a sizeable shot advantage over the Crimson at 50-37, but Pike managed to make a season-high 14 saves.

“Joe played really well,” Smith said. “We’ve come to rely on him. He’s a force in net.”

The win was the Big Red’s 11th straight victory over Harvard and its fifth straight on the season.

“It was a tough game,” Gibbons said. “It’s always tough to lose a one-goal game, but we have to regroup for next week.”

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