CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – A new season begins this weekend for the No. 13 Harvard men's lacrosse team as it starts Ivy League play with a matchup against the Yale Bulldogs. The 106th edition of the rivalry will kick off a highly anticipated 2025 Ivy League men's lacrosse season. The Frisbie Family Head Coach for Harvard Lacrosse, Gerry Byrne, and his Crimson will look to continue their strong play into the meeting with the Bulldogs, which is set for this Saturday at Jordan Field.

What to Know

• Who: No. 13 Harvard vs. RV Yale
• When: Saturday, March 15, 1:00 PM
• Where: Jordan Field / Boston, Mass.
• Event: The 106th edition of the Harvard-Yale Lacrosse Rivalry
• Camps: Learn more about the Crimson Lacrosse Academy hosted at the Harvard Athletics Campus by the Harvard Men's Lacrosse Coaches for rising 4th-8th grade boys [HERE].

Quick Hits

• Harvard owns the nation's fourth-best scoring offense with 15.20 goals per game.
• The Crimson have tallied 25.2 points per game, the third-most nationally.
• Gerry Byrne and the Crimson defeated the Michigan Wolverines to log the program's 13th victory over a B1G school and the third in the Byrne era.
• The most efficient offense in the nation, Harvard has scored on 41 percent of its possessions in 2025.
• Sam King ranks third nationally with 6.2 goals per game.
• Eight members of the Crimson have four or more goals on the season.

By the Numbers

5 – Ranking on SportsCenter's Top 10 for John Aurandt's behind-the-back goal.
7 – Caused turnovers for Ray Dearth, a team-high.
11 – Ranked victories for the Crimson under head coach Gerry Byrne.
17 – More points for Teddy Malone until he hits 100 in his career.
34 – Consecutive games with a goal for Sam King, the second-longest streak in the nation.
35 – Ground balls per game for Harvard, the eighth most nationally.
37 – More points to tie the program record of 243 for Sam King, who currently sits at 206.
43 – Points for Harvard midfielders, the most in the Ivy League.
98 – Forced turnovers by the Crimson defense this season.

Harvard in the Rankings

• Harvard is ranked No. 13 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.
• The Crimson remain in the USA Lacrosse Rankings at No. 16.
• The USILA Coaches have tabbed the Crimson as the No. 13 team in the nation.
• Harvard remains at the top of the NEILA Regional Rankings.

The Rivalry

The sixth-most played matchup in collegiate lacrosse, the Harvard-Yale men's lacrosse rivalry dates back to the 1882 season, with the 106th playing of the Harvard-Yale rivalry set to take place this weekend. The sides have played some close battles in recent years, but the Crimson are seeking their first win over the rival since the 2017 season. Yale owns the advantage in the all-time series and a 7-3 lead in the last 10 meetings.

Quick Check on Yale

Despite opening the season with a 1-3 record, the Yale Bulldogs enter week five receiving votes in the national polls. The Bulldogs are coming off a convincing 15-10 win over the No. 16 Denver Pioneers last weekend, where Yale scored the first six goals of the game and at one point in the third quarter led 13-4. The Ivy foe opened the year as the No. 9 team in the nation before dropping its first three games to Villanova (11-3), No. 8 Army (3-14), and No. 9 Penn State (9-15).

The Bulldog attack duo of Leo Johnson and Chris Lyons lead the team this season with 11 and eight points, respectively. Johnson owns six goals and five assists to pace the squad in both categories. On defense, Jack Stuzin anchors the unit with four caused turnovers and 13 ground balls. Primary faceoff specialist Machado Rodriguez has had a strong start to the season, winning 42-of-77 draws and owning the Ivy League's third-highest winning percentage with a .545 clip. Junior Hugh Conrad took over goalkeeping duties for the Bulldogs this season and has accumulated a 13.86 GAA and a .453 save percentage across four games played in 2025.

As a team, the Bulldogs score 9.5 goals per game and allow 13.0 goals per game, ranking fifth and sixth in the Ivy League, respectively.

Player History vs. Yale

The Crimson comes into the contest with plenty of experience against the Bulldogs. Senior attack Sam King leads the team with 16 points, 10 goals, and six assists in three career games against the Ivy foe. Andrew Perry (6 points), Owen Gaffney (4 points), and Joe Dowling (4 points) have also contributed offensively in two games played each against Yale. Martin Nelson (7 ground balls) and Ray Dearth (3 caused turnovers, five ground balls) have seen success against the opponent.

Last Time Out

The Crimson defeated the No. 20 Michigan Wolverines on Saturday (Mar. 8), 14-11, to move to 4-1 on the season. A six-goal outburst from Sam King and a 12-save day for Graham Stevens highlighted the victory for the Crimson. It was already the third nationally ranked win for the Crimson this season, the second-most for the program under Gerry Byrne.

Making the Climb

Harvard began the season in the No. 18 spot in the Inside Lacrosse media poll and, after a 4-1 start to the 2025 campaign, now finds itself in the No. 13 spot on the list. The Crimson also sit inside the top 20 at No. 16 in the USA Lacrosse Rankings and remain in the top 15 of the USILA Coaches Poll at No. 13. Harvard is also holding on to the top spot in the NEILA Regional rankings.

Ivy League Player of the Week

Sam King earned his first Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week award for his six-goal, eight-shot performance against Michigan. King also added five ground balls and two caused turnovers in the effort that earned him the award unanimously. It was King's second-career Ivy League weekly honor and the first for the sharpshooter since the 2023 season.

Bullseye

The Crimson heads into the week five matchup with Yale owning the second-highest shooting percentage in the nation with a .373 clip through five games played. Sam King leads the team and is currently third in the nation with his individual shooting percentage of .563. King has displayed his pinpoint accuracy this season by scoring 18 goals on just 32 shots. John Aurandt IV (.400) and Jack Speidell (.367) also rank in the top 100 nationally at No. 55 and No. 90 in the nation, respectively.

On the Ride

The Crimson has forced 30 failed opponent clears this season and once again ranks highly in the lowest opponent clear percentage metric. Harvard has held its opposition to a .739 clearing percentage (85-for-115) this season, which is the fourth-best nationally and the best in the Ivy League. The contributions on the ride come from all over the field as attackmen, midfielders, and defenders have combined for 49 caused turnovers this season, a majority of those coming on the ride.

Playing Like a King

Senior captain and attack Sam King has continued to rise through the record books with his electric start to the 2025 season. With 31 points through five games, King now sits in fifth place in program history with 206 career points. He is just six points away from moving into third place in program history by passing Mike Ferrucci '98 (210) and Devin Dwyer '16 (211).

King's 112 career goals are the fifth-most all-time, putting the Baltimore native 30 goals away from tying Jeff Cohen '12 for the most in program history. In the assists category, King sits in sixth place, just two helpers away from passing Morgan Cheek '94 for the fifth-most in program history.

Winning Plays Aren't Always Pretty

One of the deciding plays in the victory over Michigan involved SSDM Finn Jensen causing a fourth-quarter turnover before digging out a loose ground ball to Martin Nelson, who cleared the ball, allowing the offense to go to work. Later in the fourth quarter, with the Crimson lead down to one, Mile Botkiss caused a turnover on the Michigan clear to spring the offense, leading to a goal by King.

Harvard's commitment to battling in the midfield – particularly in crunch time – has helped the group pull out results this season. That effort is indicated in the non-faceoff ground ball discrepancy that Harvard has built through five games. In non-faceoff-related ground balls, Harvard owns a 121-88 advantage over opponents.

Beyond the Box Score

The Crimson has had a number of key contributors on the field this season that are not necessarily reflected in box scores or stat sheets. Particularly on the ride, the defensive group of Ray Dearth, Owen Guest, Martin Nelson, Finn Jensen, and Sean Jordan has been key in helping the Crimson clear the ball into the offensive zone. Harvard has cleared the ball at an 83-percent clip this season and has held a clear advantage in four of five games this season.

The Harvard Globetrotters

The Crimson scored several SportsCenter Top 10-worthy goals in the battle against Michigan, including John Aurandt IV's bully dodge behind-the-back goal, which landed at No. 5 on the SportsCenter segment on Sunday (Mar. 9). Earlier in the game, sophomore attack Jack Speidell broke the cage with a behind-the-back laser with his left hand. Later in the game, Logan Ip scored on a one-handed wraparound shot from GLE. Sam King also had two goals off his patented question-mark "jump-shot" dodge.

Sharing the Rock

Harvard's offensive efficiency this season has been sparked by its ability to share the ball and find the open man. The Crimson owns the nation's second-highest assist per game total with 10.0. A 66-percent assist rate (50 assists on 76 goals) gives Harvard the second-highest clip in the nation.

Man-Up on a Mission

After ranking in the top five nationally a season ago, Harvard's extra-man unit has once again shown off its strength in 2025. The Crimson are 9-for-16 on EMOs this season, giving them a .563 average, the seventh-best clip in the nation. Andrew Perry owns a team-high three EMO goals – the 18th most nationally – leading five different players who have converted on the man-up for the Crimson.

Giant Killers

Under Gerry Byrne, Harvard has posted three wins over opponents ranked in the national top 10. The win over No. 6 Syracuse was the most recent triumph for Byrne and the Crimson. The other victories came against No. 4 Cornell at Jordan Field in 2023 and a 19-16 upset of No. 3 Princeton during the 2022 season. Harvard also played close contests against No. 2 Virginia and No. 10 Yale during the 2024 season that turned into narrow losses.

Advanced Stats

According to Lacrosse Reference, Harvard ranks inside the top 10 in five advanced metrics through five games. The Crimson is the national No. 1 in offensive efficiency, scoring on 40 percent of its possessions in 2025. The offense is also second nationally in shooting percentage with a clip of 37.3 percent.

Breaking it down further, Harvard is also the national leader in offensive efficiency off a non-faceoff groundball/turnover with a 48.2 percent scoring percentage. The team is also the national leader in efficiency on possessions lasting 30-60 seconds.

The final metric is roster depth, where Harvard ranks ninth in weighted roster depth. Harvard has averaged 26.9 contributors per game this season to land in the top 10.

Iron Sharpens Iron

Gerry Byrne has added three more ranked wins to his coaching register after defeating the Michigan Wolverines, Providence College Friars, and Syracuse Orange in 2025. The results now give Byrne 11 ranked victories in his tenure as the Crimson head coach. The Crimson picked up two wins over ranked foes a year ago with victories against No. 18 Bryant and No. 13 Michigan and are one away from tying the 2022 Crimson with four.

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