GAME OF THE YEAR RUNNER-UP: Men’s lacrosse avenges last year’s mile-high agony with win over ranked Pioneers

An opportunity for a little payback and a boost in the rankings is enough to make any game interesting.

The Harvard men’s lacrosse team’s 8-7 triple-overtime defeat of then-No. 14 Denver on April 1 became just that.

After 68 minutes of play, the two squads entered the third extra frame exhausted and eager to leave the other team heartbroken in defeat.

Two minutes and 45 seconds later, Crimson attacker Greg Cohen came around the left side of goal and stretched past the Pioneer goalie, putting the ball into the bottom of the net for the win.

The victory in the friendly confines of Jordan Field avenged a 2005 loss in Denver, a game which saw the Crimson leading 8-7 with 24 seconds remaining before two late Pioneer goals began a four-game Harvard skid.

“I think we had last year in our minds,” Cohen said. “We definitely wanted to pay them back a little bit for that. So we were able to do that and beat a ranked team.”

The victory was the Crimson’s second in a row against a ranked opponent, propelling Harvard to a No. 16 ranking nationally.

The win also had long-term effects; players and coaches alike accredited Harvard’s surprise NCAA bid to its superb record against the nation’s best squads.

“The selection committee must have looked at wins against possible tournament teams and highly ranked teams,” co-captain midfielder Jake Samuelson said. “Other teams had good records but didn’t have the wins. It’s more a factor of who you beat than who you lost to.”

—MADELEINE I. SHAPIRO