No. 2 Princeton Edges No. 9 Harvard in 15-14 Heartbreaker

No. 9 Harvard fell in the final seconds of a memorable battle to No. 2 Princeton, 15-14. The Crimson was in it all afternoon but was unable to make a late defensive stand, as the Tigers scored three goals in the game’s final four minutes.

Despite the cold weather, nearly 4,000 fans came out to support Harvard for the centerpiece of the Cambridge Day event. A raucous crowd all afternoon fueled much of the Crimson’s competitive effort throughout the game.

“We just got some really impressive young people,” said head coach Gerry Byrne. “And I think that’s one of the reasons why we had 4,000 people there.

“Our practice, it’s pretty savage. When you do that for 30 hours a week, between film and lifting and training, and still being really good citizens, and really good students, and really good people, that’s why it’s so disappointing, you know? When you don’t execute, you don’t finish that game, being up by one with two minutes left. As a coach, just knowing how good of people, and students, and citizens our players are, you just stand for that. And to have the opportunity to win that game, and then not, is really disappointing.”

“But you have to pivot quickly. Yeah, it’s disappointing to lose. It makes me sad thinking about it. But I know we’re gonna show up tomorrow and be like, ‘all right, that was that. Those are the lessons. Let’s get better, let’s get ready to do this again next Saturday,’” Byrne added.

The defeat prevents Harvard from hosting the Ivy League Tournament on Jordan Field, which it has not done since 2014.

The Crimson (9-3, 3-2 Ivy) began the season 8-0, its best start since 1961. The opening streak included a 13-12 victory over then-No. 1 Syracuse, its first ever over a No. 1-ranked team.

Harvard has hit a rough stretch since its first loss, a blowout against No. 3 North Carolina, proceeding to struggle against an unranked Brown and suffer a lopsided defeat against No. 12 Yale.

The Crimson’s offense, which during its undefeated streak held the highest shooting percentage in the nation, played uncharacteristically poorly during the skid, while its defense struggled to keep the ball out of the cage to begin games, applying even more pressure on the underperforming attack.

Despite the loss on Saturday, the offensive struggles Harvard experienced the past few weeks were much improved, while its defense prevented Princeton from storming out to a big lead early.

“We went about our practices differently this week,” said Byrne. “We went a little bit shorter, but a little bit more violent, frankly, and, I think we carried that energy into the game.”

While the Crimson lost the faceoff battle 16-15, the performance was much improved for a team winning just 39.6% of its faceoffs on the season prior to Saturday.

The Tigers (10-2, 4-1) began the season with a loss to No. 16 Penn State, but have since recovered with victories over No. 7 Maryland, No. 5 Syracuse, and No. 3 North Carolina, establishing themselves as one of the most dominant programs in the country.

Junior attack Colin Burns scored on a bouncer to open the scoring for Princeton on the first possession of the game. The Tigers quickly tacked on another from sophomore attack Aidan McDonald.

Senior midfielder Andrew Perry took advantage of a groundball scrum on the crease to sneak the ball past Princeton’s goalie and put Harvard on the board.

The Tigers responded with another goal from Burns.

The Crimson came right back with a physical goal from sophomore attacker Nathan Cobery.

Despite trailing 3-2 to end the first quarter, Harvard’s competitive play to start the afternoon gave the game a much different feel than the blowout defeats against North Carolina and Yale.

After struggling at the faceoff all season, hustle plays in the center circle left the Crimson winning the faceoff battle, 4-2, at the end of the first.

After each side began the quarter with a shot-clock violation, Princeton’s sophomore attack Porter Malkiel struck first blood in the second, followed by a goal from junior midfielder Tucker Wade.

Then, Perry let loose a ballistic missile from twenty yards out to swing the momentum back in Harvard’s favor, and captain Logan Ip made it a one-score game midway through the second. Ip was notably drafted 18th overall on Tuesday by the PLL’s Boston Cannons, the second-ever Harvard player drafted to the league.

Senior attack Teddy Malone extended his 28-game goal streak to tie the game. After yet another Harvard faceoff win, senior midfielder John Aurandt IV gave the Crimson its first lead of the afternoon.

As the shot clock struck zero, Burns let loose a desperation shot for a score and to tie the game at six.

On the next possession, Harvard’s junior captain Jack Speidell received a pass on the crease from senior midfielder Francisco Cortes. The Spider-Man leaped, spun, and dumped it in the crease to regain the lead for the home team.

Cortes followed up with one of his own to extend the lead to two.

Senior longpole Charlie Muller scooped up a ground ball at midfield, juked and spun past defenders like he was playing Madden, and got the ball into Malone’s trusty hands to make it 9-6 Harvard at the halftime break.

In the first half, the Crimson led the faceoff battle, 9-8, outshot Princeton 25-21, and was a perfect ten-for-ten on clears. Harvard’s defense was holding firm and keeping the Tigers at bay, while its offense was back to playing with the moxie and precision of the nation’s most efficient attack. Seven different Crimson players scored in the first half.

A botched clear attempt by Harvard enabled Princeton to snipe an easy empty-netter for the first goal of the second half. A fast break goal off the next faceoff made it a one-score game.

Freshman midfielder Logan Turley responded to the Tigers’ surge. The rookie swim-dodged his defender, switched to his left hand, and let loose a howitzer to make it 10-8.

Princeton came right back with a goal from junior attack Nate Kabiri, who drew a penalty in the process. Burns quickly capitalized on the man-up opportunity to tie the game at 10 at the end of the third.

Turley came through with a huge goal to put Harvard ahead to begin the fourth.

Princeton bounced back with a goal from freshman midfielder Parker Reynolds. Another one from Kabiri gave the Tigers their first lead of the half with ten minutes remaining.

Junior midfielder Jackson Greene charged to the crease from the right side and let loose a sidearm shot to knot it back up at twelve. Then, after a huge hit to regain possession, Harvard pushed it ahead on the fast break, getting the ball in Speidell’s hands for a dump-and-score for the lead.

Princeton capitalized on its next possession, evening the game at 13-13.

A Superman dive from senior defenseman Charlie Muller regained possession for the Crimson after a Princeton shot went wide. Malone capitalized with a nasty behind-the-back goal to give Harvard the lead with two minutes on the clock. The Crimson’s alumni section knocked down the fence in the ensuing celebration.

The celebration was short-lived, as senior midfielder Chad Palumbo tied it for Princeton with the fourth goal in three minutes of play.

After a timeout, the Tigers won the next faceoff and intentionally held on to the ball to ensure that Harvard would have as little time as possible on the following possession. As the shot clock whittled down, Burns came through with a heartbreaker to put Princeton ahead with seventeen seconds remaining on the clock.

The Tigers won the final faceoff and successfully held on to the ball to hand Harvard its first home loss of the season, 15-14.

“Fans see moments,” said Byrne. “As a fan, you fixate on whatever happened in the last few minutes of the game. And that’s not unfair, and those plays matter, of course. But games are 60 minutes long. And there’s an aggregate element of that.”

“So, what can you do differently? You pick up a ground ball, you slide better, you shoot it with a little bit more accuracy. All these little things. There’s nothing radical that we have to do differently. We just have to get tiny little increments better,” the coach added.

The Crimson has now dropped five straight against Princeton and eight of the past nine contests between the two Ivy League foes.

Harvard will travel next to Ithaca, N.Y., on Saturday to take on No. 6 Cornell at noon.

The Big Red (9-3, 4-1) is the reigning national champion, though it has been somewhat inconsistent this season. Its signature victories came over Princeton and No. 15 Duke, but it suffered a blowout loss against No. 16 Penn State and was stunned by a then-unranked Yale.

The Crimson has dropped six of the past seven to Cornell. However, Harvard is 3-0 this season against teams with colors in their nickname, and will undoubtedly look to extend that streak to four.

Princeton will face Dartmouth next week, which is 0-5 in Ivy League play. The Tigers will need a victory while also relying on Harvard to defeat the Big Red in order to secure hosting rights for the Ivy League Tournament.

The Crimson will hope to come out on top and solidify its NCAA Tournament résumé, with the added plus of avoiding having to make another Odyssey to Ithaca for the Ivy League Tournament.

“We still have everything to play for,” said Byrne. “We’re in control of our destiny, and our guys are energized and optimistic.”

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