Notebooks
Men’s Golf Leaps Out to Strong Start in 2021 Campaign
The Harvard men’s golf team has had no trouble avoiding the rough, with three top-three team finishes to start its fall season.
NOTEBOOK: Women’s Soccer Improves to 4-0-1 ahead of Final Pre-Ivy Matches, Best Start since 1996
With just two games separating Harvard from its Ivy League opener against Penn on Sept. 25, now is a good time to take a step back and consider the Crimson’s performance in its first five games. Harvard remains undefeated through five games for the first time since 1996, a season in which it went 15-2-0 overall and won all seven league games. It is an encouraging start to the season for a team with serious hopes of winning the Ivy League. Here are some takeaways from the opening few weeks of the season.
NOTEBOOK: Powerplay, Cameron Gornet Take No. 18 Men’s Hockey to Comeback Draw Against Yale
The tie comes at a crucial moment for the Crimson, as the team is in the midst of a final ECAC stretch while striving to keep its national playoff hopes alive.
NOTEBOOK: Punting, Bad Starts, and Defense Characterize Football's Victory Over Holy Cross
The Crimson’s win streak increased to four on Saturday with its 31-21 victory over Holy Cross. Visiting the Jesuit school in Worcester, Mass., Harvard picked up its first road win of the season.
Notebook: Smith Shines and Third-Downs Key in Harvard Win
Under the field’s Friday night lights, Harvard swamped Brown, holding the Bears to a single touchdown as they scored six of their own. Here’s what we took away from this weekend’s Crimson triumph.
NOTEBOOK: The Game Sees Sod, Stewart, and Kickers, but No Birds
This weekend, Harvard beat Yale for the first time since 2015. Rather than Harvard Stadium or the Yale Bowl, the 45-27 Crimson win in the 135th rendition of The Game was hosted by Fenway Park as Harvard Stadium was reported to be under construction. The move represented the first time in 106 years that the rivalry — the second oldest in college football — has been played somewhere other than the stadiums of the two hosts. The contest brought the largest attendance of any game this season to the sold out ballpark for a game with no Ivy League title ramifications, and a challenge simply for the pride of victory.
NOTEBOOK: Defense Shines in Close Loss to Undefeated Princeton
As boats rowed down the nearby Charles River during the annual Head of the Charles Regatta, so, too, did the hopes of an Ivy League championship float away for the Harvard football team on Saturday.
NOTEBOOK: Last-Second Field Goal Caps off Close Football Win
Harvard came out on top in a back and forth affair against Holy Cross on Friday evening. Highlights from the match included strong fourth quarter performance, special teams gaffes and a strong defense.
NOTEBOOK: Special Teams Woes and Personal Bests Highlight Football’s Cornell Loss
Over the weekend, Harvard made the long bus drive to Ithaca, N.Y., to square off against Cornell for the second consecutive year. And for the second consecutive year, the Crimson left the town with its second loss. And for the second consecutive year, Harvard’s two losses come in the first four weeks of play to both the Big Red and Rhode Island.
Notebook: Despite Strong Defense, Football Falls to URI
Over the duration of the current senior class’ time in Cambridge, the Crimson boasts an 8-3 record against non-league competition, and two of those losses have come at the hands of the Rams.
NOTEBOOK: Sophomores Lead Football Over Brown
The matchup between Harvard and Brown is always an interesting one. The latter is convinced a rivalry exists and the former treats it like any other game. Last weekend, Harvard outshone the temporary lights at Brown Stadium, defeating the home team 31-17.
NOTEBOOK: Front Lines Fuel Football's Victory over San Diego
The offensive line paved the way for a punishing ground game and gave sophomore quarterback Jake Smith tons of time to go through his progressions in the pocket. The defensive line stunted much of the Toreros’ running progress and hurried quarterback Anthony Lawrence 14 times.
Notebook: Long Ball, Lewis Push Harvard Past Cornell
With just over a minute left in overtime and with Harvard up 86-85 against Cornell, what might’ve the biggest play of the night happened outside of Lavietes Pavilion. In fact, it happened all the way in New Haven.
Notebook: Men's Hockey Revives Power Play, Makes Unexpected Change in Net in Beanpot Consolation Game
In some ways, righting the ship is exactly what coach Donato’s group did. In others, the team has yet to iron out certain aspects of its season.
Notebook: Discipline on Both Ends Facilitates Men's Basketball Win Over Penn
With sophomore point guard Bryce Aiken still sidelined, a positive flow from the Harvard offense from both the inside and outside is certainly an encouraging sign for the Crimson.
Notebook: Free Throws, Team Play Power Basketball Past Cornell
In a season that’s seen plenty of notable individual performances from players such as Towns, Lewis, and a now injured Bryce Aiken, Saturday’s win for Harvard came from an all-around balanced effort.
Notebook: Men's Hockey Struggles with Power Play, Hot Goaltender in Beanpot Semis Loss to BU
For Harvard, the loss does not so much raise questions about Madsen’s performance in net, who stood tall (.928%) despite falling back to a .500 win percentage on the season. The team must instead confront a string of offensive issues that it began to fix over the weekend at Dartmouth.
Notebook: Assists, Long Ball Key for Women's Basketball in Drumming of Yale
Harvard moved into second place in the Ivy League, thanks to a two-win weekend anchored by Friday night’s season high 97-point performance against rival Yale. The Crimson excelled from beyond the arc, in the paint, and in ball movement.
Notebook: Post Play, Defense Key for Men's Basketball at Yale
In a low-scoring and gritty affair, Harvard men’s basketball kept its unbeaten streak in conference play through a 54-52 road victory against Yale Friday night.
Notebook: Men's Basketball Employs Deep Ball and Uncharacteristic Zone Defense to Contend with No. 7 Kentucky
A 17-2 run by No. 7 Kentucky midway through the second half lifted the hosts to a 79-70 win over the Harvard men’s basketball team on Saturday afternoon. The stretch blew the roof off an otherwise back-and-forth contest that saw the Crimson at arm’s length for most of the game’s first 26 minutes.
Penn Rushers, Turnovers Send Football to 23-6 Loss
The 23-6 defeat prevented Harvard from vying for a share of the Ivy League championship. Moreover, the Crimson scored fewer than 10 points for the first time Nov. 2009.
NOTEBOOK: Football Bested by Explosive Princeton Offense
This past Friday night, Harvard lost under the lights for the first time in program history. Princeton dominated from the kickoff, scoring 17 unanswered points to start the game and commanding a 31-10 halftime advantage. The visitors gained 573 total yards, which is the highest mark against the Crimson so far this year.
Eyes On the Tiger
Princeton junior wide receiver Jesper Horsted brings in a catch before turning upfield, where he is met by Harvard senior defensive back Raishaun McGhee. The Crimson corner finished with seven total tackles, including one for loss, in his team’s relatively porous effort against the Tigers.
Notebook: Football Rights the Ship With Trouncing of Lafayette
After losing to Cornell last week, Harvard football needed to make a statement. Against Lafayette on Saturday, the Crimson did just that.