CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – No. 17 Harvard men's lacrosse came out on top tonight in an early candidate for NCAA Lacrosse game of the year, defeating the No. 18 Bryant Bulldogs 14-13 in a thrilling Tuesday night battle. The Crimson (2-0, 0-0 Ivy) handed the Bulldogs their first loss of 2024, using a fourth quarter surge to power them to the victory.
The attack - led by
Graham Blake,
Sam King and
Teddy Malone – combined for 10 goals led by Blake's five tallies, his second straight game with five-plus goals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Harvard and Bryant met on Jordan Field Tuesday night in a rare matchup of ranked New England lacrosse squads.
- The Crimson got off to a hot start, scoring three quick goals in just over three minutes of action. Blake, Logan Ip and Jack Speidell netted the strikes to boost the Crimson to a 3-0 lead. Speidell's tally came on the man-up and went down as his first career goal.
- Bryant got on the board with their first goal five minutes into the contest but was quickly matched by another Crimson goal by Blake.
- The Bulldogs countered with another pair of goals before Jackson Greene scored his first career goal to restore a two-goal lead for the Crimson, who led 5-3 with three minutes remaining in the first quarter.
- Teddy Malone responded with a slick goal late in the quarter to give Harvard a 6-4 lead at the end of the first quarter.
- The Bulldogs made their move early in the second quarter, scoring the first two goals of the period to tie the game at six.
- Another Blake goal put the Crimson back in front 7-6 before the Bulldogs went on a two-goal run to head into the half with an 8-7 led over the Crimson.
- The Crimson defense came out strong to start the second half, forcing a pair of Bryant turnovers. After another Bulldog goal, Sam King answered with his first goal of the game to keep the game within one.
- Another King goal leveled the score at nine before the Harvard defense went on a tear to keep the game tied in the next four minutes. Christian Barnard made two saves while Jake Brownley and Finn Jensen caused two turnovers to keep the Bulldogs at bay.
- Another Blake goal gave Harvard a 10-9 lead before Bryant went on a two-goal run late in the third quarter to take a 11-10 lead at the end of the third quarter.
- Logan Darrin caused a huge turnover at the start of the fourth quarter to get the Crimson on the run. Teddy Malone scored a quick goal in transition to bring the game back to level at 11.
- Another two-goal run by the Bulldogs put them in a 13-11 leading position at the 12-minute mark of the quarter.
- From that point on it was all Crimson. The defense forced a turnover on the ensuing possession that led to a Graham Blake goal, his fifth and final tally of the contest.
- Another forced Bryant turnover led to another King goal to level the score at 13.
- On the next Bryant possession, Greg Campisi forced another Bulldogs turnover that led to the eventual game-winning goal scored by Miles Botkiss with just under seven minutes remaining in the game.
- The Crimson defense stood tall in the final sequences of the action, forcing two more Bryant turnovers to send Harvard off with a thrilling 14-13 win over Bryant.
HARVARD HIGHLIGHTS
UP NEXT
Harvard will head down to Connecticut this weekend to take on Bucknell in a neutral site game at Wilton High School. The Bison and the Crimson will meet at 1:00 PM on Saturday (Feb. 24).
SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
