CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Sam King continued his hot streak with a six-point effort to pace the offense, but it was not enough to knock off the RV/No. 14 Princeton Tigers who came away with a 17-11 win over the Crimson. Harvard (5-6, 2-3 Ivy) kept it close early, but an eight-goal run from the Tigers boosted the Ivy League foe to the victory.
Graham Blake added a pair of goals while
Collin Bergstrom paced the defense with three caused turnovers in the effort. First-years
Griffin Pokorny and
Matt Barraco each scored their first career goals in the contest. Barraco also won a career-best 15 faceoff draws while scooping up six ground balls.
Harvard will still have a chance to clinch a spot in the Ivy League Tournament next weekend when it hosts Yale at Jordan Field. The Crimson and Bulldogs will battle on Saturday, April 29 for the final slot in the 2023 Ivy League Tournament field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The 88th matchup in the Harvard-Princeton men's lacrosse series started off with the sides trading goals. The Tigers picked up the first tally of the game, but Andrew Perry answered for the Crimson to even the score under a minute later. The team's would repeat the sequence but this time it was Teddy Malone who made the score 2-2.
- Sam King scored the first of his four goals less than a minute after Malone's strike to give the Crimson a 3-2 lead. After a series of failed offensive possessions, the Tigers rattled off eight straight goals to take a 10-3 lead with 4:18 remaining in the second quarter.
- The man-up unit for the Crimson answered in a big way, stopping the run by scoring back-to-back goals late in the second quarter. Graham Blake and Joe Dowling both found the back of the net to score twice in just 36 seconds. King added another goal thirty seconds later to cut the Tiger lead to 10-6. Princeton added one more goal just before the halftime buzzer to carry an 11-6 lead into the break.
- The Tigers would add two more goals at the beginning of the third quarter before Matt Barraco netted his first career goal to end the run. Barraco, a first-year FOGO, won a faceoff clean before sprinting downfield and firing a shot into the back of the net to make the score 13-7.
- The teams would once again trade quick goals in just over a minute. It was King who tallied the strike for the Crimson, his third of afternoon. Starting goalkeeper, Christian Barnard, made three saves down the stretch to hold off the Tigers, who would eventually add one more goal to its total at the end of the third period.
- King and Blake added another pair of goals to match the Tigers fourth quarter total. Griffin Pokorny scored the final tally for the Crimson with 1:23 left in the contest. The strike served as his first career goal.
- When the final buzzer sounded, Princeton held a 17-11 lead to come away with its fourth Ivy League win of the season while the Crimson fell to 2-3 with the result.
Harvard Highlights
- Sam King scored four goals and dished two assists to pace the team with six points.
- Graham Blake tied a career-high with two goals in the contest.
- Matt Barraco scored his first career goal and led the team with six ground balls and a career-best 15 faceoff wins.
- Greg Campisi grabbed five groundballs for the second straight week.
- Collin Bergstrom had a game-high three caused turnovers.
- Harvard went a perfect 14-for-14 on clear attempts and caused five failed Princeton clears.
- The Crimson only turned the ball over five teams, a season-low.
- George Alvarez made his career debut after taking over in net during the fourth quarter. The GK also recorded his first career point in the contest, assisting on the final goal of the game.
- Griffin Pokorny also scored his first career goal in the action.
Up Next
It all comes down to The Game. Harvard will host Yale next weekend for its final contest of the regular season at Jordan Field. It is a win or go home game for both teams, as the winner of the contest will decide the fourth and final team in the 2023 Ivy League Tournament field.
The contest between the Ivy League rivals will take place next Saturday, April 29 at 12:00 PM at Jordan Field and on NESN/NESN+. The Crimson will also celebrate its 12-member senior class before the contest as a part of the senior day ceremonies.
