CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Closing out its regular season with a chance to clinch the Ivy League championship title, the No. 12 Harvard men's lacrosse team will travel to No. 9 Yale this Saturday, April 30. Game time is set for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPNU.
What to Know
- Harvard improved to 8-3 overall and 3-2 in the Ivy League after a thrilling 19-16 upset over No. 3 Princeton in front of an electric crowd last weekend. The Crimson sits in a five-way tie for first place in the conference standings heading into the last weekend of the regular season. Harvard has a chance to clinch the Ivy League title or a spot in the conference tournament after this weekend's games play out.
- Harvard's first-years continue to produce this season, as
Miles Botkiss led the Crimson's offense against Princeton with four goals.
Sam King and
Andrew Perry each recorded hat tricks, while
Owen Gaffney posted two goals. On the defensive side, first-years
Collin Bergstrom and
Tommy Martinson grabbed a team-best three groundballs.
- The Crimson has risen the ranks back into the top-15 in the nation this week, now placing at No. 12 in the country.
- Harvard has been dominant on home turf this season, sporting a 6-0 unbeaten record. The Crimson has scored 12+ goals in five out of six contests at Jordan Field and has allowed 11 or less in all but one.
- The Crimson's offense ranks 32nd in the nation in points per game with 19.55. The squad has racked up 10 or more goals in eight games this season, including a season-high 19 twice.
- After an impressive first half of the season on the field, sophomore
Greg Campisi was named an Inside Lacrosse Midseason All-American. Campisi received Second Team honors and the first of his career with the recognition. The Farmingdale, N.Y. native ranks first on the team in caused turnovers with 13 and second in groundballs with 39. Campisi ranks eighth in the Ivy League with 1.18 caused turnovers per game and 10th in groundballs per game with 3.55.
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Kyle Mullin has held steady in the top half of the conference rankings in goals against average, placing third in the league and 31st in the nation at 11.33 through 11 games in net. The senior co-captain is averaging a .522 save percentage and 11.82 saves per game, both good for 34th in the country.
- Senior
Austin Madronic (25), first-year
Sam King (23) and first-year
Miles Botkiss (23) pace Harvard's offense, eclipsing the 20-goal mark. Harvard is averaging 13.27 goals per game. The Crimson's first-years are making their mark, with four out of six of Harvard's top goal scorers putting the Crimson jersey on for the first time this season, including
Owen Gaffney (13) and
Andrew Perry (12).
- Yale enters the weekend ranked ninth in the nation and sits tied for first in the Ivy League standings with a 9-3 overall record and 3-2 conference mark. The Bulldogs boast a 6-0 home record, winning its last two-straight on home turf. Harvard trails Yale, 38-64, in its all-time series. The last time the Crimson took down the Bulldogs was in 2017 with a 9-8 home win.
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
A series of games across the Ivy League will determine whether or not Harvard will clinch one of four available spots in the Ivy League Tournament next weekend. After that, the Crimson will await its fate for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The selection show is scheduled for Sunday, May 8 at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.
