CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – In its first game in over 700 days and opening its 2022 season at home, the Harvard men's lacrosse team (1-0), lit up the scoreboard on its way to a 17-4 victory over NJIT (0-3) on Saturday afternoon at Jordan Field.
The Crimson had 11 different players find the back of the net, with two different hat-tricks from
Austin Madronic and first-year
Miles Botkiss, with both coming in the first half. Botkiss was making his debut for the Crimson and wasted no time filling up the stat sheet.
Charlie Olmert and
Isaiah Dawson added two goals each for the Crimson.
Also getting on the board for Harvard were
Graham Blake,
Sam King,
Andrew O'Berry and
Mark Stephens.
First-years
Owen Gaffney,
Lucas Hilsenrath and
Elijah Cohen all pitched in their first career goals in the Crimson and White.
In the assist department,
Nick Loring,
Hayden Cheek,
Andrew DeGennaro and
Andrew Perry all recorded one.
Starting goalie
Kyle Mullin saved all three shots he faced in the first half, in what was a short day for the senior.
Harvard opened the contest with 11 consecutive goals, claiming a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and pushing it to 11-0 going into the half.
The Crimson didn't let up in the third frame, outscoring the Highlanders 5-2 and holding the lead 16-2 going into the final quarter.
In the final frame, the Crimson took its foot off the gas to provide the 17-4 result.
Harvard Highlights
- Seven Crimson tallied their first career goals in a Harvard uniform.
- The Harvard defense forced 17 turnovers.
- The Crimson won the ground ball battle 29-15.
- Harvard won 13 of 24 faceoffs and outshot the Highlanders 31-13.
- Harvard was 16/20 (80%) on clears for the contest.
Game Notes
- The Crimson is now 6-1 in its last seven season openers.
Up Next
Harvard will travel to Naples, Fla., for a matchup with Ohio State on Saturday Feb. 26, at 7 p.m.
