Harvard Snaps Losing Streak With Big Win

Although conventional wisdom says that it is hard for freshmen to score, first-year attacker Jeff Cohen notched a career-high six goals at Harvard Stadium on Saturday to lift the No. 17 Harvard men’s lacrosse team over Holy Cross, 11-4.

Mired in a three game losing streak with defeats to a trio of nationally ranked Ivy opponents, the Crimson (6-5, 1-3 Ivy) squared off against the Crusaders (3-11, 0-6 Patriot) in a non-league matchup. After a slow start, the Harvard attack struck early and often to stop its losing ways.

“I thought the guys played hard,” Harvard coach John Tillman said. “[We] didn’t always execute, play very smart or efficiently, but sometimes you have to be good enough just to work hard and grind it out.”

The scoring began less than two minutes into the first period on Cohen’s first goal of the day. After gathering the ball behind the goal, the freshman circled the net, squared up in front of Holy Cross goaltender Jimmy Harrison, and slipped a shot past him down low.

Harvard added two more goals in the first half, both from junior attacker Travis Burr. With 2:23 remaining in the opening period, Burr ran from behind the goal and finished top-shelf, and with 5:16 left in the second period, the junior received the ball on the left wing and fired a shot past Harrison.

“Travis Burr has, through the last couple games, emerged as one of our leaders, especially on the offensive end, and it showed today,” Tillman said.

The Crusaders’ only goal of the first half came as time was running out in the opening period. With fewer than 10 seconds remaining in the frame, Holy Cross fired a shot at Crimson goaltender Joe Pike. Pike blocked the attempt, but as the rebound rolled in front of the net, Crusaders attacker Chris Smirti raced in to scoop up the ball and converted on a diving shot with just 6.3 seconds left on the clock.

At halftime, Harvard led 3-1, but held a substantial edge in shots, 19-8, groundballs, 14-6, and face-offs, 4-2.

“We came out a little slow,” Cohen said. “We were a little lacking after the last three defeats that were pretty heartbreaking, but in the second half, we picked it up.”

“It’s not about talk right now, it’s about getting it done,” Tillman said he told his players at halftime. “It’s about somebody stepping up on each end of the field and being a better leader.”

Cohen was one of the players that stepped up. Five minutes into the third period, junior defenseman Ben Smith scooped up a ground ball on the defensive end and raced downfield. He found Cohen on the left wing where the freshman fired a shot bottom shelf.

A minute later, crisp passing led to Cohen gathering the ball on the right wing, where he converted on a shot to give the Crimson a 5-1 lead.

Sloppy play led to three Harvard penalties that gave Holy Cross an opportunity to get back into the game. With a two man advantage midway through the third period, the Crusaders worked the ball around to Smirti who fired a shot past Pike. One minute later, another Crimson penalty gave Holy Cross a man-up opportunity and again, Smirti found the back of the net.

Leading only 5-3, Harvard responded on the ensuing face-off. After gaining possession, captain midfielder Nick Smith raced up field, drove through the defense, and ripped a close range shot past Harrison.

Smith’s score, his second of the season, ignited a 4-0 spurt that iced the game for the Crimson.

In the fourth period, senior midfielder Nick Sapia tallied his first goal of the game, and Cohen notched number four and five for the game to complete the run.

Cohen’s fifth goal, scored with 9:21 left in the contest, came after playing possum with the Crusader defense. Holding the ball behind the Holy Cross goal, Cohen waited until a defender would come out to challenge him. After a dozen seconds of inaction, a defender finally came, but Cohen simply ran past him and slipped a low shot into the net.

The Crusaders scored once in the final period, Smirti’s fourth of the game, before Harvard added two more. At 3:42, Cohen recorded his sixth goal of the game—for a team-leading 26th goal on the season, and one minute later, senior attacker Jeff Wannop scored his first and the team’s final goal of the game, for a final score of 11-4.

Cohen’s six goals were the most in a game by a Crimson player since his older brother Greg Cohen ’07 scored six against Dartmouth in 2007.

“In the first half, we were shooting high, and [Harrison] was pretty tall and getting a lot of saves,” Cohen said. “At halftime, coach told us to shoot low, so we followed that. Of course, the shots were going in after that.”

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