ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Harvard men's lacrosse team continued its stellar start to the 2024 season this afternoon, defeating the No. 13 Michigan Wolverines 13-11 on their home turf. The Crimson (6-0, 0-0 Ivy) remain unbeaten with the victory that powered Harvard to its best start to a season since 1990. Harvard put forth a strong defensive effort in the contest, holding the 13^th-ranked Wolverines to just two goals in the first half and its lowest goal total of the season.
 
Sam King led the charge with four points off two goals and two helpers while Christian Barnard locked down the cage with nine saves.
 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Crimson made the trek out to Ann Arbor to battle the No. 13 Michigan Wolverines at U-M Lacrosse stadium on Sunday, looking to keep its perfect record intact while picking up a nationally ranked win.
• It was all Harvard in the first quarter, as the Crimson went on a four-goal scoring run to build an early advantage on Michigan. The Harvard defense shut out the Wolverines for the entire first 15 minutes thanks to four Michigan turnovers and four saves by Christian Barnard.
• The hometown kid, John Aurandt IV started the Crimson off with the team's first goal of the game. The Brighton native dumped home a feed from Teddy Malone to get the Crimson up early.
• Sam King tallied both of his goals in the first quarter, followed by Teddy Malone's first goal of the game, to give the Crimson a 4-0 lead at the first quarter break.
• Michigan finally ended the Harvard run, ending a 16-plus minute scoreless streak with its first goal of the game to open the action in the second quarter.
• Harvard countered with a three-goal scoring run that was led off by Jackson Greene's first goal of the contest. Two long defensive stands for Harvard led to back-to-back goals from Lucas Hilsenrath and Andrew DeGennaro.
• The Wolverines punched back with one more goal before time ran out in the second half, making the score 7-2 at the break.
• Michigan started the scoring in the second half with an early tally before Harvard rattled off another three-goal run. In this series, Ray Dearth, Graham Blake and Liam Griffiths – who tallied a man-up goal for his squad – registered the goals in the stretch.
• The Wolverines did not go away after going down 10-3, as the team put together a four-goal run to cut into the Harvard lead. Greene and Griffiths both added another goal in the quarter to give the Crimson a 12-9 lead going into the final quarter.
• Harvard's defense stepped up big in the fourth, opening up the frame with a defensive stand that led to Harvard's final goal that was scored by Logan Ip.
• Michigan made its last push early in the quarter, scoring two quick goals to make the score 13-11 at the 7:46 mark.
•  The Crimson defense locked it down for the remainder of the game, forcing three consecutive Michigan turnovers to put the game on ice and ride out of Ann Arbor with a 6-0 record.

 

HARVARD HIGHLIGHTS

• Sam King led the squad with four points off two goals and two assists.
• First-year midfielder, Jackson Greene, had the best game of his young career, scoring two goals and adding an assist.
• Liam Griffiths added two man-up goals in the contest. Griffiths' pair helped Harvard go 2-for-4 on the man-up.
• Teddy Malone and John Aurandt IV both had two points with a goal and an assist each.
• Christian Barnard made nine saves while only allowing 11 goals in the matchup.
• Andrew DeGennaro and Andrew O'Berry led the team with five and four groundballs, respectively.
• Harvard held the lead in shots on goal (24-20) despite being outshot 55-39 in the contest.
• The Crimson went on three separate three-goal scoring runs.

 

UP NEXT

The No. 19 Crimson will be back on the road next week, traveling to Yale for another nationally ranked matchup. Harvard and the Bulldogs will renew their rivalry next Saturday (Mar. 16) at 1:00 PM in New Haven and on ESPN+.