No. 4 Harvard Survives Scare Against Dartmouth, 17-14

The Big Green gave Harvard a big scare on Friday night as the Crimson managed to pull away against Dartmouth, 17-14, under the lights on a rainy night at Jordan Field.

The close call will certainly not help a Harvard side already facing questions about its strength of schedule as it looks to silence doubters in matchups next week against No. 15 Boston U and No. 5 North Carolina.

“I think the conditions were sloppy and so was our play,” said senior attack Teddy Malone. “We really had to dial in on our core team values throughout the game. Ultimately, we had to stay calm and rely on each other and trust each other.”

Malone scored his 100th career goal on Friday, moving into tenth place in the Crimson’s all-time goals list. Malone also leads the Ivy League in goals this season with 23.

“It’s definitely very cool and means a lot to me,” said Malone on reaching the century mark. “I’ve looked up to a ton of people who have scored 100 goals at Harvard, so it’s cool to join them in that stat line. I hope to just keep it going and keep winning!”

The victory was the Crimson’s seventh to open the season, matching the 1990 team for the second-best start in program history. Harvard’s all-time win streak record came during the 1961 season, when it began 10-0.

Harvard’s offense continued to be the most efficient unit in the nation, scoring on 40.2 percent of its possessions entering the game. In this game, three different players recorded hat tricks, and seven total found the back of the net.

Harvard entered the game missing starting FOGO Junior Owen Umansky, a huge blow to a side already struggling at the center circle this season. The Crimson still managed to keep the faceoff battle close, trailing 18-15.

Graham Stevens, whose .600 save percentage entering the game ranked fourth nationally, recorded twelve saves on the evening, aiding a defensive front that uncharacteristically struggled against a weaker Dartmouth side.

“They played at a faster pace than I think we were prepared for,” said head coach Gerry Byrne. “They came in with a great strategy to try to get short stick defensive midfielders on their two best dodgers, and we were making that a little too easy for that to happen.”

Dartmouth’s 14 goals were the most allowed by Harvard this season, and its .359 shooting percentage was the worst surrendered by the Crimson by a wide margin.

The Big Green has had an unremarkable start to its season, with its four victories coming against low-tier opponents and its two prior defeats coming in lopsided fashion.

After sophomore backup FOGO Jackson Henehan won the first faceoff of the game, sophomore attack Nathan Cobery caught a pass on the crease to open up the scoring.

Dartmouth retaliated with a goal from Freshman attack Stu Gates.

Harvard jumped back ahead with another crease goal from Cobery, followed by a goal from captain Logan Ip.

Sophomore attack Alex Jessey kept it close for Dartmouth with a shot from deep before senior attack Thomas Power tied the game once again.

With a minute left in the first, Cobery came up from X to secure a hat trick and retake the lead for Harvard. Ip added another one with eleven seconds remaining to give the Crimson a 5-3 lead at the end of the quarter.

Junior attack Jack Speidell, named to the Tewaaraton Award preseason watchlist, recorded his first goal in a couple of games to extend Harvard’s lead.

Jessey stopped the bleeding for Dartmouth, and Power struck twice to tie the game once again.

Jessey scored a diving goal on the crease to make it four unanswered for Dartmouth and give the Big Green its first lead of the game.

With 20 seconds left, senior attack John Aurandt IV scored a diving goal to seemingly tie it before the half.

Dartmouth had other plans. Jessey struck on the fast break to give the Big Green the edge headed into halftime.

Malone opened the second half for Harvard with a left-handed goal to knot up the two sides. On the next possession, Aurandt fired it from deep to put the Crimson back in front.

The strong start was short-lived, as sophomore midfielder Nick Moore tied it for the sixth time on the evening.

Ip dodged down the right side and found Speidell on a pass to the backside to swing the lead back towards Harvard. Senior midfielder Andrew Perry fired from way outside to put the Crimson up two.

Senior midfielder William Stahl joined in on the scoring party to bring Dartmouth within one, and senior midfielder Emmett Paradine evened the score once more.

Dartmouth’s Power caught the ball on the crease late in the third without a Harvard defender in sight. Stevens responded with a backhanded save to keep the game tied, 11-11, heading into the final quarter.

Sophomore defenseman Michael Savadove gave the Crimson another lead with a pole goal to open the fourth.

Power gave the game its eighth tie on a left-handed shot to the top right corner.

Malone took advantage of a pick from Speidell with a sidearm shot from 15 yards for the lead and his 100th career goal.

Ip dodged to the right and let a shot fly from deep to put Harvard up 14-12.

Gates brought Dartmouth within one on a shot from deep.

Cobery came up from X to give Harvard an insurance goal with two minutes remaining. Ip added one more in the final minute to ice the game for the Crimson.

Aurandt added an empty-netter, and Stahl gave Dartmouth a last-second goal as Harvard escaped a rough evening with a 17-14 victory.

“In the first half, they were playing great offense,” said coach Byrne. “They had a great strategy, and they really got us out of our rhythm. I think in the second half, we started making it more difficult for them to get their matchups, and as a result, we could defend them a little better deeper into possessions.”

The defeat extends Dartmouth’s losing streak in Cambridge, where it has not won a game since 2008. Harvard leads the all-time series between the two, 54-40-1.

Harvard will hope its lackluster performance against Dartmouth was a fluke as it begins one of its most difficult stretches of the season.

The Crimson will take a break from Ivy League play, heading across the Charles to take on No. 15 BU at 7 p.m. EDT.

Harvard will finish off its out-of-conference slate Sunday at 1 p.m. EDT with its third game in ten days, in a battle of titans against No. 5 North Carolina at a neutral site in Severn, Md.