CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – No. 15 Harvard men's lacrosse competed for the first time at Jordan Field on Tuesday afternoon, as the Crimson fell just short against Patriot League foe Colgate, 19-15.
Sophomore attack
Jack Speidell powered the Crimson offense with effective goal scoring, tallying a career-high five goals. Senior attacker
Sam King collected a team-high six points, two goals and four assists.
How It Happened
The Crimson's 2025 home opener at Jordan Field started with a flurry of goals in the opening five minutes of action.
The Raiders produced the opening strike with 13:01 on the clock, Harvard responded, scoring three unanswered goals within a minute.
Owen Gaffney leveled the score, as Speidell converted a man-up opportunity to put the Crimson in the driver's seat, 2-1.
The goal scoring run continued with a gutsy Crimson showing in transition.
Teddy Malone fought off multiple physical challenges from Colgate, firing the ball into the net while falling to the floor. After Colgate picked up a goal with 4:19 to reduce the Harvard advantage to two, King restored Harvard's three-goal lead with a sensational effort beyond the halfway line, beating the Colgate keeper off his line, 5-2.
In the final 2:30 minutes of the first quarter, both sides traded goals. John Aurandt tallied his first goal of the year on an assist from Malone, as
Logan Ip ended the frame strong with his goal of the afternoon, scoring Harvard's final goal of the period with just 10 seconds. Harvard ended the first quarter with the 7-3, as nine different Crimson recorded at least one point in the initial frame of action at Jordan Field.
Colgate opened the second quarter with four straight goals, evening the scoreline with 9:43 left. Speidell put Harvard back in front with his fifth goal of the season, as the Raiders scored three consecutive goals to regain the lead, 10-8. With 3:06 left in the second, Gaffney scored on a solo effort, taking a 10-9 scoreline into the halftime break.
Harvard scored nine goals on 21 shots with seven assists in the first half, converting both of its extra man opportunities.
In the opening moments of the third quarter, Colgate scored the first two goals of the frame, as King responded to keep Harvard within reach, 12-10. After the Raiders added two more goals, the Crimson cashed in on its third man-up opportunity, as
Andrew Perry scored his first goal of the year on a long-range effort, 14-11.
With a man-up advantage to start the fourth quarter, Harvard started the final frame on the front foot, as effective ball movement allowed Speidell to complete the hat trick, 14-12. Following a Colgate score, Speidell struck again, scoring on the transition to keep the Crimson within reach of the Raiders, 15-13.
Two more goals in the second half of the fourth from the visitors put the scoreline at 17-13. With 5:40 to go in the contest, Speidell did it again, pulling the Crimson within four with his fifth goal of the afternoon. In the final moments of the game, both teams traded possession, as Colgate held on for the win, 19-15.
Harvard Highlights
Up Next
The Crimson travel to Upstate New York this weekend, facing off against No. 6 Syracuse at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday, Feb. 22. The matchup is slated for a 1:00 p.m. start and will air live on ACC Network Extra.
