HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Cornell Big Red made its way to Cambridge to face off at Jordan Field for the first time since the 2019 season. The Crimson and Big Red danced on the turf in what was a beautiful day in Cambridge, entertaining a massive crowd of nearly 2,600 fans.
• The Big Red stormed out of the gate, scoring three consecutive goals in the first four minutes of play, forcing Harvard to burn an early time out. The Crimson played with a different energy after the breather, forcing a turnover that would lead to Harvard's first goal of the game, scored by Sam King. After Ray Dearth caused another Big Red turnover, Owen Gaffney threaded a shot into the back of the net to make the score 3-2 with just over seven minutes remaining in the first quarter.
• The Crimson defense and Christian Barnard stood tall, forcing two more Cornell turnovers and making two more saves to keep the score at 3-2 after the first 15.
• Both attacks traded long possessions to begin the second quarter with Cornell eventually netting the first goal of the quarter at the 10:09 mark. That would be the last goal the Big Red would tally in the half as Barnard made four saves on all its other scoring chances to hold them off.
• Harvard was able to level the score before halftime thanks to goals by Perry and Teddy Malone. The first-year Malone fired a low roller through the goalie's legs with seconds to play in the half to knot the score up at four goals apiece.  
• Both teams came out of the halftime break fired up, playing with tons of energy for the remaining thirty minutes. Harvard took its first lead of the game thanks to Perry, who received a pass from King and found the back of the net to score his third goal of the day. After Cornell briefly tied the game at five, Perry scored another goal to give the Crimson a 6-5 advantage at the end of the third quarter.
• Barnard made another five saves in the third frame, back up by three more caused turnovers from his defense to hold off the relentless Big Red attack.
• With everything to play for in the final 15 minutes, Harvard turned in one of its most impressive quarters of lacrosse this season. After Cornell earned possession on the opening draw, Barnard made a great save before the ball was cleared by Chase Yager. Once the offense was set up, Hayden Cheek scored his first goal of the game off an assist from Perry to give Harvard a two-goal lead.
• One the next faceoff, Andrew DeGennaro caused a turnover and picked up the groundball to give Harvard another chance. Nick Loring took care of business in the attacking zone, scoring his first goal of the game to put the Crimson up 8-5 with 12:11 remaining in the quarter. Cornell tacked on two more goals to its total to make the score 8-7 at the halfway mark of the final period.
• After trading long offensive possessions, Cornell set up in their attacking zone, but its play was interrupted by Ray Dearth, who caused a turnover and ran down the field and ripped a shot top shelf and past the Cornell keeper to make the score 9-7 in favor of Harvard.
• After another Cornell goal, another SSDM, Chase Yager followed Dearth's lead, causing a turnover, clearing the ball and scoring a goal, his first of the season, to give Harvard a 10-8 advantage.
• Barnard made three saves in the final two minutes to put the game away and give the Crimson a 10-8 win over the No. 4 Big Red.

Harvard Highlights

• Harvard knocked off Cornell, it's first Ivy League loss of the year, for its first win in the series since 2016 and its biggest upset since last season (W, 19-16 over No. 3 Princeton).
• The Crimson was led offensively by Andrew Perry, who notched four points with three goals and an assist.
• Christian Barnard made 16 saves, the second highest total of his career.
• Harvard held Cornell to its second-lowest scoring output of the season, allowing only eight goals.
• Sam King registered three points with a goal and two assists and Nick Loring was the only other multi-point scorer after posting two points with a goal and an assist.
• SSDMs Ray Dearth and Chase Yager both played incredibly well on both ends of the field, posting three groundballs, two caused turnovers and one goal each.
• Martin Nelson was the team leader in groundballs with four this afternoon.
• The Harvard defense forced 19 Cornell turnovers, its second highest total of the season.
• The Crimson improved its record at Jordan Field to 3-1 in 2023 and 10-1 under Head Coach, Gerry Byrne.

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