No. 3 Harvard Wins Dogfight Against No. 20 BU, 14-11

Harvard put down No. 20 Boston University Tuesday night in the 13th edition of the Charles River Rivalry, defeating its cross-town rival 14-11.

It was a night of milestones for the Crimson, as co-captains Logan Ip and his fellow Tewaaraton Award Watchlist member Jack Speidell each notched their 100th career point. Speidell’s came only in his 33rd career game.

Sophomore goalkeeper Graham Stevens set a career-high in saves with 23 on the evening. The two-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week’s .597 save percentage ranks third nationally.

“This is a big game, I was excited and came ready to play,” said Stevens. “We stress a lot on the defensive side with closing out, getting our long poles to the shooter, so affecting those shots made it a lot easier for me.

“And, you know, I was seeing it well today.”

Harvard’s 8-0 start is the second best in program history, trailing only the 1961 season, when it began 10-0. The Crimson entered the game as the No. 3 team in the country, its highest ranking in program history.

The one-spot increase in the polls came after arguably the worst showing of the season for Harvard, when Dartmouth took it down to the wire on Friday before the Crimson ultimately pulled away with a 17-14 win.

There was further concern entering the game with starting defenseman Joost De Koning out with an injury.

Harvard struggled all night getting the ball to its offense, particularly in the first half.

“I think it’s just patience in the clear,” said Stevens. “BU plays a hectic style. They play a unique ten-man ride. In the second half, we started battling at the faceoff X and then became more successful in the clear. So we got more possessions, and our defense started getting stops. And when we get our offense the ball, they’re gonna score.”

BU dominated the groundball battle, 42-26. However, Harvard rallied in the fourth quarter, picking up nine of the 17 grounders to help come out on top on the final scoreboard.

“It was a game of runs,” said head coach Gerry Byrne. “But once we started getting the scrums and contested ground balls to our possession, it changed the game, because we were losing faceoffs. Once you start winning the tough ground balls, you start to win.”

When Harvard did get the ball, the Crimson continued to display the nation’s most efficient offense. Harvard’s .377 shooting percentage leads the country, and it’s ranked fourth in goals per game with 14.88.

“We were just working for great shots, moving the ball, and focusing on putting balls on net,” said Speidell. “And if we do that, some are gonna fall, and if they don’t, we know we didn’t hit our spots, but we just have to continue to put balls on net and save it for a really good shot.”

BU (5-4) entered the matchup experiencing an up-and-down season, including victories over then-No. 13 Army and then-No. 20 Navy, but also a blowout loss against an unranked Yale and a shocking defeat this past Saturday versus 2-6 Colgate.

The Terriers dominated possession early, culminating in a goal for freshman attack Peyton Forte. Senior attack Jimmy Kohr added another one lefthanded from his side to give BU a quick 2-0 lead.

On the following faceoff, Speidell capitalized on some chaos in a groundball scrum to fire a bouncer from the restraining line to put the Crimson on the board.

Harvard did not run its first full offensive set until five minutes into the game. Senior midfielder Andrew Perry took advantage of the opportunity when he fired a surprise sidearm shot from deep to tie the game at two.

The Crimson’s second possession was equally successful as senior attack Teddy Malone put Harvard in front with its third straight goal. Malone’s Ivy League-leading 24th goal on the year moved him into 10th place on the Crimson’s career goals scored list.

After a needed timeout, BU responded with another goal from Kohr.

Harvard responded when Ip caught a pass from Speidell in front of the cage, spun, and fired it into the net for his 100th career point.

BU struck back when senior defenseman Connor Kehm capitalized on a fast break with a pole-goal, tying it at four to end the first quarter.

Senior midfielder Sam Burns put the Terriers in front to begin the second.

Speidell came up from X and fired it from right at GLE, catching the BU goalkeeper off guard to put the two sides even again at five.

Forte put the Terriers back in front with five minutes to go in the half.

After a low-scoring second quarter, BU led Harvard 6-5 at the end of the half.

Stevens ended the first half having already bested his save total against Dartmouth, with an absurd 13 saves at the halftime whistle. The brick wall in cage has been an essential part of the Crimson’s defense this season, with 13.88 saves per game, ranking fifth nationally. He’s averaging 17.5 in his last four games.

Harvard had three failed clears and eight turnovers in the first half, crippling its ability to get the ball on the offensive side of the field.

“We needed to turn stops into possessions,” said Byrne. “Getting a save or defensive stop, and then clearing the ball. They have a very difficult ride, and we only had a couple of days to prepare for it. Once we get the ball, we have a really efficient offense. So stops-to-possessions is the term.”

Senior attack John Aurandt IV capitalized on the fast break to give Harvard the first goal of the second half and tie the game for a fifth time.

Aurandt then took the ball himself, dodged his defender, and held on through multiple body checks to notch his second goal of the game and put the Crimson ahead.

Ip received a pass from Malone at the restrainer without a defender in sight. He wound up and fired a howitzer to extend Harvard’s lead to two.

Perry stormed down the left side, getting past his defender, who no Terrier slid to replace. He fired a shot uncontested to put the Crimson in front, 9-6.

Perry scored on a man-up opportunity to record his first hat trick since 2023 and Harvard's fifth unanswered goal.

Kohr swung the momentum back BU’s way with a fast-break goal, notching a hat trick of his own.

Sophomore attack Finn Lawrence scored man-up to bring the Terriers within two to end the third.

After a shot from Perry shattered a BU defender’s long stick into two pieces, the Terriers sprinted down the field for an offensive possession, which sophomore midfielder Andrew Pape capitalized on to make it a one-score game early in the fourth.

Sophomore attack Timothy Shannehan made it a brand new ballgame on a no-looker while man up, making it 10-10 with twelve minutes remaining.

Sophomore attack Nathan Cobery caught the ball on the fast break with no one but the goalie to beat, converting to put Harvard back in front.

Speidell came up with a clutch goal, joining Ip with his 100th career point, to put the Crimson ahead by a pair.

Harvard’s momentum was cut short after another penalty led to another goal for Pape.

Speidell responded for the Crimson, making it 13-11 halfway through the fourth quarter.

A slow rest of the quarter kept Harvard’s lead at two with two minutes remaining.

After BU pulled its goalie for a desperate attempt to claw back, Aurandt notched an empty-netter for his fourth hat trick in as many games and to ice the game for the Crimson.

The victory gives Harvard its third win over a ranked opponent and its third consecutive eight-win season, only the fifth time it has accomplished the latter feat.

There will be little rest for the Crimson as the team will conclude its out-of-conference schedule with its third game in ten days against No. 4 North Carolina on Sunday at 1 p.m. EDT.

The battle of top-ranked teams will be played at a neutral site in Severn, Md.

Harvard is seeking its first victory over the Tar Heels since 1960.

So far, UNC has taken down No. 10 Penn State, No. 11 Johns Hopkins, and No. 15 Penn, with its only defeat on the season coming narrowly against No. 7 Princeton.

Sunday’s game against the Crimson is the first of a merciless stretch for the Tar Heels that includes four top-six matchups in five games.

— Staff writer Maxwell P. Friedman can be reached at [email protected].