The Storyline
Coming off an Ivy League title and NCAA tournament appearance in 2014, the No. 12/13 Harvard men's lacrosse team will open its 2015 season versus UMass on Saturday, Feb. 21. Faceoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. live on the Ivy League Digital Network. The Crimson will return to action Monday, Feb. 23 at Holy Cross for a 4 p.m. faceoff.

Saturday's contest will mark the third straight year that Harvard has played UMass in its first game of the season, and the 46th-consecutive year that the regional rivals have squared off.

Parking Advisory
Due to several home events and recent inclement weather, fans traveling to Harvard home events this weekend are advised to allow more time to arrive. All bearers of Harvard winter season parking passes are guaranteed parking within the complex. Fans unable to park inside the Athletics Complex can park in the Harvard Business School parking areas accessible off of both North Harvard Street and Western Avenue.

More information on directions to the Harvard Athletics Complex is available here.

Rank and File
The Crimson will begin the 2015 campaign as one of the nation's elite Division-I programs, having received top-20 rankings in both major polls.  Harvard is ranked 12th in the USILA Div. I Coaches Poll, and 12th in the Cascade/Maverik Div. I Media Top 20.  Eight of Harvard's 2015 opponents are also ranked or receiving votes in the polls, including four Ivy League programs.

Bringing Home The Hardware
Harvard earned a share of the 2014 Ivy League Championship, the fourth Ancient Eight title in program history and first in 24 years. The Crimson finished the season off with a 10-7 overall record and 5-1 mark in conference, matching Cornell for the top spot in the Ivy League.

The Crimson last won the conference in 1990 under former head coach Scott Anderson, going 12-3 overall and 5-1 against the Ivies en route to the NCAA tournament quarterfinals. Harvard also won the conference in 1980 under current John D. Nichols '53 Family Director of Athletics Bob Scalise, and earned the program's first Ancient Eight title in 1964 under Bruce Munro.

Home Field Advantage
Harvard is 22-10 at home under Chris Wojcik '96, The Frisbie Family Head Coach for Harvard Men's Lacrosse, including a 7-1 record in 2014. The Crimson is 11-8 in Harvard Stadium with Wojcik at the helm, and boasts an 11-2 record at Soldiers Field Lacrosse Stadium.

Preseason Plaudits
Bobby Duvnjak, Brian Fischer and Devin Dwyer were each named Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-Americans. Duvnjak and Fischer were each selected to the second team, while Dwyer received third team honors.

Additionally, five Crimson were recognized on the Preseason All-NEILA first team while Harvard was chosen first in the NEILA Preseason Poll; Duvnjak, Dwyer, Fischer, Stephen Jahelka and Sean Mahon.

Going Pro
Brian Fischer was selected in the fifth round of the 2015 Major League Lacrosse Draft by the Boston Cannons. Fischer, who became the sixth student-athlete in program history to be taken in the draft, was chosen 34th overall as the fourth pick in the fifth round.

He joins former Harvard standouts Daniel Eipp (2014 draft 32nd overall, Rochester Rattlers), Kevin Vaughn '12 (2012 draft 14th overall, Denver Outlaws), Daniel DiMaria '12 (2012 draft 41st overall, Charlotte Hounds), Jason Duboe '10 (2010 draft 33rd overall, Boston Cannons) and Henry Flood '07 (2007 draft 32nd overall, Washington Bayhawks) as one of six Crimson to be selected in the draft.

Named to the Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-America second team, Fischer helped anchor a Harvard defense in 2014 that allowed 9.76 goals per game while holding 11 of its 17 opponents to fewer than 10 goals.

Captaining the Ship
Senior Jake Gambitsky and juniors Stephen Jahelka and Sean Mahon were voted by their teammates as captains for the 2015 season.

"I am pleased to announce that Jake Gambitsky, Stephen Jahelka, and Sean Mahon have been elected captains for the 2014-2015 season," Wojcik stated. "Leadership development is an important component of our mission at Harvard and our lacrosse program. Each of our captains possess intrinsic leadership qualities, and this year I expect them to learn and grow as they help guide our team."

Welcome to Cambridge
Chris Wojcik '96, The Frisbie Family Head Coach for Harvard Men's Lacrosse has once again assembled one of the top recruiting classes in the nation with the addition of 12 freshmen for the 2015 season. Harvard's Class of 2018 has been ranked as the ninth-best recruiting class by Inside Lacrosse and features five individuals ranked in the top 100.

"We are happy to welcome our freshmen to the Harvard Lacrosse family as they arrive on campus today," Chris Wojcik '96, The Frisbie Family Head Coach for Harvard Men's Lacrosse, stated. "Twelve young men join our program, representing seven states and Washington D.C.  The incoming class is an accomplished group, well prepared to begin the next chapter of their lives at Harvard.  We expect the class of 2018 to make a significant contribution to our program as we begin preparations for the 2015 season."

Harvard has boasted a top-10 recruiting class each of the last six years, including third-ranked classes in 2011 and 2009, and the fourth-ranked class a year ago.

Winning Ways
Harvard's 10 wins in 2014 matched the highest total since going 11-3 in 1998, and marked the 16th time in program history that it has won 10 or more games in a season.

Harvard's 5-1 record against the Ivy League, meanwhile, matched the best conference record in program history. Harvard has now gone 5-1 in conference play six times, but never 6-0.

All-America
Sophomores Bobby Duvnjak and Devin Dwyer received All-America honorable mention honors, marking the first time since 2000 that a pair of Crimson teammates have made the list (Roger Buttles '01 and Keith Cynar '00). Harvard boasts 122 All-Americans in program history, including four under the guidance of Chris Wojcik '96, The Frisbie Family Head Coach for Harvard Men's Lacrosse.

All-Ivy
Seven members of the Crimson were named to the All-Ivy League teams, highlighted by the selection of Devin Dwyer and Bobby Duvnjak to the first team. Peter Schwartz, Jake Gambitsky and Stephen Jahelka were each tabbed to the second team, while Will Walker and Carl Zimmerman received honorable mention nods.

Harvard's seven All-Ivy honorees are the second most in program history, behind only the 1996 squad which placed eight on the all-conference teams. Chris Wojcik '96, The Frisbie Family Head Coach for Harvard Men's Lacrosse, was named to the All-Ivy first team that year after captaining the Crimson to a 12-3 overall record, a 5-1 mark in conference, and an appearance in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals.

Light Up The Scoreboard
Harvard finished 2014 ranked 22nd in the nation in scoring offense with an average of 10.71 goals per game. The Crimson scored in double-figures a total of 11 times last year, including a stretch of eight consecutive games between March 4 and April 8. At the time, Harvard's streak of consecutive games scoring 10 or more goals was the longest in the nation.

Both Devin Dwyer (12g, 35a) and Peter Schwartz '13-14 (25g, 21a) contributed more than 40 points, while Will Walker (35g, 4a) added 39 points to the attack. This marked just the second time under Chris Wojcik '96, The Frisbie Family Head Coach for Harvard Men's Lacrosse, that Harvard has had more than one individual reach 40 points.

Quarterbacking the Offense
Devin Dwyer turned in a team-best 47 points  (12g, 35a) in 2014 despite missing the first four games of the season due to injury. Harvard averaged just 9.75 goals per game while going 2-2 without Dwyer in the lineup, but after his return the squad averaged 11.00 goals per game with an 8-5 record.

Dwyer's 35 assists on the year were the eighth most in program history, and he ranked seventh in the NCAA wth 2.69 assists per game. His 62 career assists, meanwhile, are four shy of the program's career top 10.

Finding the Back of the Net
Will Walker scored a team-leading 35 goals in 2014, the most for the Crimson since
Jeff Cohen '12 tallied 48 in 2012. Walker became just the 18th player in Harvard history to score at least 30 goals in a season, tying him for 12th on the Crimson's single-season list.

Walker notched a career-high five goals in the team's win against Dartmouth, the most by a member of the Crimson since Cohen tallied seven against Michigan on March 31, 2012.

Sensational Sophomores
Harvard's junior class accounted for 61 percent of the Crimson's offense in 2014 as sophomores. The group totaled 182 of the team's 298 points, led by Devin Dwyer (12g, 35a), Will Walker (35g, 4a), Deke Burns (18g, 6a) and Sean Mahon (10g, 8a).

At the X
Austin Williams stepped into the role of faceoff specialist for the team's victory over Princeton, winning 13-of-19 at the X to go with eight ground balls. Williams finished the year winning 47.7 percent (53-111) of the faceoffs he took on the year.

Keegan Michel will also be utilized as a faceoff specialist during the 2015 campaign.  As a freshman, Michel led Harvard with 59 ground balls and won 140-of-235 faceoffs (.596) while ranking 10th in the country in faceoff win percentage.   

Turning Them Away
Jake Gambitsky was solid in goal for the Crimson in 2014, allowing just 9.88 goals per game while posting a .506 save percentage. Gambitsky recorded double-digit saves in 11 of Harvard's 17 contests, including five of the last six outings, while allowing fewer than 10 goals 11 times.

Lockdown Defender
Brian Fischer proved himself to be one of the top long stick midfielders in the nation in 2014, as evidenced by his lockdown performances against Cornell and Princeton. Fischer was responsible for marking the Big Red's Connor Buczek in Harvard's 14-9 win, and held the two-time All-American scoreless for the first time that year. Against the Tigers, Fischer defended four-time All-American Tom Schreiber and kept Schreiber, who entered the game with 199 career points, without a point for just the second time in his career.

Players of the Week
Four different members of the Crimson were named Ivy League Player of the Week in 2014, marking the most player of the week awards in program history. Each of Harvard's honorees received the accolade for the first time in their career; Jake Gambitsky (March 10), Gabriel Mendola (April 7), Brian Fischer (April 21), Devin Dwyer (April 28).

Against the Odds
Harvard knocked off then-No. 2 Cornell on April 5, 14-9, marking the highest ranked opponent the Crimson has ever beaten. Harvard went 4-7 in 2014 against ranked foes, and boasts nine wins overall versus ranked opponents under Chris Wojcik '96, The Frisbie Family Head Coach for Harvard Men's Lacrosse.

Turning Defense into Offense
Harvard long poles scored 11 points in 2014, including six goals; Jack Breit (4g, 3a), Stephen Jahelka (1g, 2a) and Bobby Duvnjak (1g).

Breit has scored 12 career points (6g, 6a) as a long pole, ranking him 11th among active long poles in the NCAA.

Strength of Schedule
Eight of Harvard's 2015 opponents are currently ranked or receiving votes in either the USILA Div. I Coaches Poll or the Cascade/Maverik Div. I Media Top 20; Duke (5/5), North Carolina (4/4), Cornell (10/11), Albany (13/10), Penn (15/12), Yale (16/14), Penn State (17/18), and Princeton (RV/20).