CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The highly anticipated 2022 Harvard men's lacrosse season begins this weekend, as the Crimson hosts NJIT at Jordan Field on Saturday, Feb. 19. Game time is set for 12 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.
What to Know
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Gerry Byrne, The Frisbie Family Head Coach for Harvard Men's Lacrosse, returns for his third season at the helm of the Crimson. Byrne led the Crimson to a 2-2 overall record in 2020 and drastically enhanced Harvard's defense. The Crimson's goals against average (GAA) improved from 14.78 to 11.25 GAA, moving from 71st in Division I to 37th.
- Seniors
Kyle Mullin and
Charlie Olmert will lead the Crimson as captains for the 2022 season. Mullin anchors the Crimson's defense as a veteran goalie of the team, ranking at the top of the Ivy League in saves per game (14.75) and placing second in save percentage (.567) in 2020. Olmert, a staple in the Crimson's offense, has posted 22 groundballs, six caused turnovers and five goals heading into the 2022 season.
- The Crimson is 5-1 in its last six season openers, with three of those wins coming in Cambridge. In 2020, Harvard topped No. 19 Massachusetts, 10-9, on the road in
Gerry Byrne's first game as head coach.
- Harvard will face a front-loaded away slate to begin its 2022 campaign. After hosting NJIT, the Crimson will play its next three matchups on the road with stops at Fairfield, Michigan and in Florida to take on Ohio State.
- The Crimson faces a NJIT squad that is 0-2 to start its season after dropping back-to-back contests to No. 16/19 Delaware and No. 15 Lehigh. Harvard will matchup against NJIT for the first time in program history.
- Harvard welcomed 11 first-years to the team, including
Jake Brownley,
Elijah Cohen,
Vince Cresci,
Joe Dowling,
Max Ewald,
Owen Gaffney,
Joey Graham,
Liam Griffiths,
Lucas Hilsenrath,
Martin Nelson and
Andrew Perry.
Miles Botkiss,
Ray Dearth and
Finn Leschly join the class as well after deferring admission from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Inside Lacrosse ranked five of the first-years among the top 100 incoming freshmen on its Power 100 Recruits list, including No. 30
Jake Brownley, No. 38
Andrew Perry, No. 46
Owen Gaffney, No. 63
Joe Dowling and No. 83
Miles Botkiss.
- Harvard will return to competition for the first time since March 7, 2020 – a span of 714 days.
Leading the Way
Gerry Byrne enters his third season as The Frisbie Family Head Coach for Harvard Men's Lacrosse. In his first year at the helm in 2020, Byrne led the Crimson to a 2-2 overall record before the Ivy League/Harvard canceled the remainder of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Byrne's leadership drastically enhanced the Harvard defense in 2020, which saw Harvard's goals against average (GAA) improve from 14.78 to 11.25 GAA, moving from 71st in Division I to 37th. Under Byrne's tutelage, Harvard's man down defense improved from 41st in the nation, to fourth, giving up just one goal in four games.
Up Next
Harvard will take a trip to Florida for a neutral site matchup with Ohio State on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
