It might have been the first time that the No. 17 Harvard men’s lacrosse team (10-5, 3-3) appeared in the Ivy League tournament, but it looked like veteran squad, cruising past No. 15 Penn (8-6,4-2) Friday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field and earning a spot in the finals of the Ancient Eight tournament.

A fast-paced second half was all the Crimson needed to break open the game and guarantee a victory against Bellarmine Friday night at the Soldier’s Field Lacrosse Stadium.

Its early lead completely evaporated, the Crimson had eight minutes left in the fourth quarter to either make a stand or drop its season opener.

Returning the top four scorers to any team would be the cause for lofty preseason expectations. The Harvard men’s lacrosse team’s returning talent hasn’t gone under the radar—the media has noticed, slotting the Crimson at No. 16 in the LaxNews Preseason Poll.

The Crimson would not disappoint a raucous home crowd of 1,202, as it overwhelmed Hartford in an 85-61 rout Friday night.

Luckily, that wasn’t the case Saturday night, as Harvard (6-14, 3-5 Ivy) earned a convincing victory over Brown (7-13, 1-7) on the day of co-captain Miyoko Pettit’s birthday. The Crimson went 1-1 in its pair of home matches, losing to Yale (12-7, 6-2) on Friday night.

Any athlete will tell you that no amount of practice can replace the experience gained from playing together in a live-game situation.

Human rights activist Rose B. Styron discussed her life experiences in Kirkland last night.

Sophomore goalie Laurel McCarthy has been given an opportunity to shine this year in a new starting role for the Crimson.

Harvard softball battled hard but ended up dropping both games of a doubleheader to local rival Boston College yesterday, scoring four runs in each loss.