CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – All eyes will turn to Jordan Field this Saturday when the No. 10 Harvard men's lacrosse team will face its toughest test of the season in the form of the No. 1 Cornell Big Red. The ivy league titans are set to clash on Jordan Field and live on NESN at 12:00 PM with the action holding major Ivy League Tournament seeding implications. No. 10 Harvard (9-2, 3-1 Ivy) is currently tied for second place in the Ivy League and will look to challenge No. 1 Cornell (10-1, 4-0 Ivy) for the top spot in the Ancient Eight on Saturday. With just two games remaining in the regular season, the Crimson has already clinched a spot in the Ivy League Tournament and will now look to build more momentum as it prepares for a postseason run. The meeting against Cornell will bring the nation's two best scoring offenses to the same field for what should be a high-flying, energetic clash.
 

What to Know

Who: No. 10 Harvard vs. No. 1 Cornell
When: 12:00 PM, Saturday, April 19
Where: Jordan Field / Boston, Mass.
Event: Cambridge Day / First 500 fans in attendance will receive a FREE t-shirt / Food Trucks / Local Business Activations / Other games and prizes
Event: Senior Day / Get to your seats early to help us honor our senior class during our pregame ceremony 
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 will take on the nation's top team for the first time since 2023 (at No. 1 Virginia).
• The Crimson defeated No. 4 Cornell in the last meeting at Jordan Field in 2023.
• Gerry Byrne's group comes into the contest riding a four-game winning streak after a 13-6 win over Penn.
• Harvard has already clinched a spot in the Ivy League Tournament for the first time since 2016.
• With two games still remaining on its schedule, Harvard has already posted the most wins since the 2014 season.
• The team's 9-2 mark is the best start for the Crimson since the 1996 season.
• Sam King, Jack Speidell and Teddy Malone all have hit the 40-point mark, giving Harvard three 40-point scorers for the first time since the 1996 season.
• Harvard is the NCAA Statistical leader in opponent clearing percentage (.713) and ground balls per game (37.82) while ranking second in scoring offense (15.0 gpg), and caused turnovers per game (12.18).
• Harvard's scoring margin of +3.55 ranks 13^th nationally.
• Jack Speidell currently ranks third nationally with 3.36 goals per game.
• Sam King's points per game total of 5.09 ranks fifth nationally.
• Harvard has posted a 9-2 record against the 16^th hardest schedule in the nation.
• The Crimson has posted the sixth-highest strength of record according to LacrosseReference.

 

By The Numbers

4 – Straight games with a goal for SSDM, Owen Guest, the third-highest scoring D-mid in the nation.
6 – Victories over teams receiving votes in National polls for the Crimson this season.
9 – Years since the Crimson last competed in the Ivy League Tournament.
11 – Straight multi-point games for Teddy Malone.
11 – Failed clears for Penn against the Crimson ride, the most for Harvard this season.
12 – More points until Sam King ties the all-time program record of 243.
19 – LaxELO Rank for Harvard via LacrosseReference, the highest ranking in the Byrne Era.
19 – Caused turnovers for Martin Nelson, a team-high.
21 – Average opponent turnovers for the Crimson this season.
32 – Positive goal margin for the Crimson in the past four games.
38 – Ground balls per game for the Crimson, the highest total nationally.
41 – Percent cumulative efficiency for Harvard, the fourth-highest in the NCAA.
43 – Shooting percentage for Jack Speidell, the 18^th highest total in the nation.
49 – Game point streak for Sam King, the second-longest total in the country.
56 – Points for Sam King, a team-best and just 17 points off his career-high.

In the National Rankings

• Harvard was voted into the No. 10 spot on the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll for week 10.
• The USILA Coaches Poll had the Crimson slotted in the No. 10 spot for the second consecutive week.
• USA Lacrosse Magazine put Harvard at No. 10 in their Week 10 rankings.
• The Crimson still sits in the top 10 in the NCAA RPI, with a ranking of seven.

 

The Matchup

After clinching a spot in the Ivy League Tournament with a win last week, the Harvard Crimson will now host the nation's top-team, the Cornell Big Red, in a game that has massive Ivy League Tournament implications. With the four-team field already set, the Crimson will now battle the Big Red to improve its odds of hosting the tournament when it battles the league's top dog this weekend. The teams have split the last two meetings with the Big Red taking the 2024 decision and Harvard getting the win in the 2023 matchup. The 2023 victory for the Crimson came when the Big Red was ranked fourth in the nation.
 
In the past nine meetings, the Big Red own a slight 5-4 advantage against the Crimson. The all-time series advantage also belongs the Big Red who hold a 69-27 record against the Crimson dating back to 1895. This will be the 97^th meeting between the Ivy League foes and the conflict is set to take place on Saturday (Apr. 19) at 12:00 PM with the game also airing live on NESN.
 

Quick Check on Cornell

With just one loss and the season and coming off arguably its best win of the year, the No. 1 Cornell Big Red's start to 2025 has been nothing short of remarkable. The Big Red's top-ranked scoring offense, which produces 16 goals per game, has guided the team to a 10-1 record and undefeated 4-0 mark in Ivy League play. The team is coming off an impressive 17-12 victory over No. 4 Syracuse last weekend and owns wins over No. 2 Princeton (15-10), No. 12 Richmond (12-11) and No. 13 Denver (15-5). The team's lone loss came to the No. 9 Penn State Nittany Lions, who dropped Cornell, 13-12 in overtime back on March 8.
 
The Big Red offense is led by senior attack, CJ Kirst, who is the national leader in goals per game with 4.91 and points per game with 6.73. Rayn Goldstein has been the Big Red's primary setup man, averaging 3.00 assists per game to rank fourth nationally. Senior Michael Long is the team's starting attack and has contributed 20 goals and 19 assists on the year.

Defensively, Cornell is led by Junior LSM Brendan Staub who owns 14 caused turnovers on the season. As a team, the Big Red average just over seven caused turnovers per game to rank 52^nd nationally. Junior Jack Cascadden has been the team's primary faceoff specialist this year, posting a .589 faceoff winning percentage with 80 ground balls through 11 games. Senior Wyatt Knust leads the effort in the crease with a .558 save percentage and a 9.81 GAA in 11 games this year. Both of those metrics are good for top-25 in the nation.
 

Player History vs. Cornell

Junior midfielder Andrew Perry is tied for the Crimson lead with six points (five goals, one assist) in just two career games against the Big Red. Sam King owns six points (three goals, three assists) in three career games against the foe. Miles Botkiss (two goals) and Logan Ip (three points) have both also had solid offensive outings in their careers against Cornell.
 
Senior SSDM, Ray Dearth, has had several notable efforts against Cornell, totaling two goals, four ground balls and three caused turnovers. Dearth also scored one of the most memorable goals in recent Harvard lacrosse history in the 2023 matchup when he caused a late fourth quarter turnover before racing downfield and scoring a coast-to-coast goal. The tally would prove to be the game-winner after the final buzzer sounded. Martin Nelson (five ground balls) and Charlie Muller (three caused turnovers) have also contributed to the defensive effort against Cornell.
 

40x3

The starting Crimson attack unit of Sam King, Jack Speidell and Teddy Malone have all reached the 40-point mark this season, giving Harvard three 40-point scorers for the first time since 1996. King leads the way with 56 points on the year while Speidell and Malone are close behind with 47 and 41, respectively. All three rank inside the national top-50 in points per game with King again leading the group with the fifth-highest total (5.09) nationally.
 
Harvard has never had three student-athletes reach the 50-point mark in the same season.
 

Best Start in Almost 30 Years

Harvard is off to its best start since the 1996 season after reaching the 9-2 mark through 11 games played. The nine-win total is already the most in a season for Harvard since 2014 and the team still has two games remaining in the regular season. The Crimson reached the total by defeating six teams receiving votes in the national polls and the 16^th toughest schedule in the nation.
 

On the Ride

Harvard owns the nation's best opponent clearing percentage, showcasing the team's dominance on the ride this season. Crimson opponents have cleared the ball at just a 71-percent clip with Harvard averaging nearly seven opponent failed clears per game. The whole team has contributed to the success of the Harvard ride, but the attack group has especially stepped up to stifle opposing teams. In just 11 games, Harvard's starting attackmen have combined for 21 caused turnovers, with Sam King's total of 12 leading the group. King's 1.09 caused turnovers per game are second-most by an attack in the nation.
 
Against Penn, the Harvard ride was relentless, forcing 11 Penn failed clears, the most in a game this season and the most in a game since last season (11 vs. Merrimack). The Crimson has forced seven or more failed clear in six of its 11 games this season.
 

Hitting the Ground

A staple of Gerry Byrne's defense has been winning the non-faceoff ground ball battle. The Crimson has executed that area of the game excellently this season and currently leads the nation in overall ground balls per game with 37.82. FOGO Jackson Henehan leads the team with 41 ground balls this season but is being chased down by Martin Nelson, who owns 34 ground balls on the season. Sam King's 32 and Ray Dearth's 27 ground balls round out the top four in the category for the Crimson.
 

The Crimson Curtain

Last Saturday against Penn, the Harvard ride and defense held the Quakers scoreless for nearly 23 minutes of game action. That was the second time in the past three games the Crimson defense has shut out an opponent for an entire quarter and the second-longest shutout streak this season. The longest came against No. 18 Dartmouth on April 5, when the Crimson shutout the Big Green for the opening 24:29 of the game.
 
In the last four games, Harvard has outscored its opponents by 32 goals (64-32) and allowed just 32 goals in the stretch. That is the lowest number of goals allowed in a four-game span for Harvard since the 2013 season (28). The six goals allowed to Penn were also the fewest allowed in a game since 2022 (6 vs. Colgate).
 

The Harvard Globetrotters

The Crimson offense has been spinning the ball all season long and currently ranks second nationally with 15 goals per game. Harvard has already scored 165 goals this season and with two games remaining in the regular season sit just 17 goals away from tying the 2013 Crimson for the most goals in a season since 2010. The Crimson's flashy offense has dazzled all season long and has produced some of the most viral goals in team history. Jack Speidell and his signature behind-the-back shot have highlighted a great collection of highlights for Harvard's offense in 2025.
 
The team record for goals in a season was set by the 1978 team who scored 224 goals in 14 games.
 

Speidell Senses

Sophomore attack Jack Speidell continued his breakout season against Penn by registering his fourth consecutive game with at least five goals. Speidell's goal total now sits at 37 on the season, the highest on the team, and his 3.36 goals per game mark is the third highest nationally. Speidell has also been a force on the man-up, where he has tallied five EMO goals which is tied for the 12^th most nationally.
 

A Guest Appearance

Junior SSDM, Owen Guest, has been a major contributor all over the field for the Crimson this season. Not only does Guest play on the first defensive unit, but he also plays on the faceoff wing, on the ride, on the clear, - and recently - on offense. The New York native has scored a goal in each of the last four games to give him five points on the season, which is the third-most among defensive midfielders in the nation. The goal-scoring streak is a career best for the junior who also owns nine caused turnovers and 18 ground balls on the season.
 

It's Muller Time

Junior defender, Charlie Muller, has been a force for the Crimson this season on close defense. Through 11 games, Muller has caused 14 turnovers including eight over the past seven games. The Bullis School product caused two turnovers against Penn which was his ninth career multiple-caused turnover game.
 

Causing Chaos

As a team, Harvard caused 12.18 turnovers per game which, through 11 games, is the second most in the NCAA. Six players rank in the national top 200 in caused turnovers per game including team-leader Martin Nelson who owns 1.73 caused turnovers per game to rank 22^nd nationally. Charlie Muller ranks eighth in the Ivy League with his 1.18 caused turnovers per game.
 

Ip Service

One of the best two-way midfielders in the Ivy League, Logan Ip is having yet another remarkable season in 2025. Through 11 games, Ip has recorded 25 points with 14 goals and 11 assists while also chipping in defensively with 11 ground balls and two caused turnovers. The junior captain has recorded a point in his last 10 games and is just three points away from tying his career high point total of 28 which he set in 2024.
 

100/100/100 Club

The first member of the HLX triple century club, Sam King passed the milestone against Binghamton (Mar. 29) with another five-point performance. The Baltimore native currently has 126 career goals, 105 assists and 123 ground balls to his name and ranks third in team history with 231 career points.
 

Chasing History

Senior captain Sam King already has his name all over the Harvard men's lacrosse record book but now, towards the end of his senior season, finds himself climbing into the top portion of the career goals, assists and points tables. The Baltimore native currently owns 126 career goals, which is the fourth-most in HLX history and just 16 shy of the program record of 142 set by Jeff Cohen '12. The Gilman school product also owns 105 career assists which is the fifth-highest total in program history. The program record of 152 assists was set by Mike Eckert '96 nearly 30 years ago.
 
King recently took a hold of third-place on the program's all-time points list after passing Devin Dwyer '16 earlier this season. With 231 career points, King finds himself just 12 away from tying the program record and 13 away from setting a new program career high.
 

Clinched

For the first time in nine years, the Harvard Crimson men's lacrosse team will be heading to the Ivy League Tournament. The group clinched one of the four spots in the tournament field after defeating the Penn Quakers last weekend. The rest of the spots in the tournament have also already been secured as Cornell, Princeton and Yale will be joining the Crimson in the field.
 
Harvard is currently tied for second place in the Ivy League standings with Princeton and are chasing down Cornell, who owns the top spot in the Ivy League standings.
 

Thank you, Seniors

HLX is set to honor its 18-member senior class this weekend in a pregame ceremony as a part of its senior day celebration. This group has been crucial in helping bring Harvard lacrosse back into the national spotlight over the past four years by securing 30 wins and helping lead the program to three top-ten wins and a 2022 NCAA Tournament Appearance.
 
The class includes seniors Liam Griffiths, Joey Graham, Sam King, Ray Dearth, Owen Gaffney, Logan Darrin, Finn Leschly, John Warner, Lucas Hilsenrath, Miles Botkiss, Vince Cresci, Tommy Martinson, Jake Brownley, Joe Dowling, Martin Nelson, Max Ewald, Elijah Cohen and John Fontham.
 

Up Next

The Crimson will close out the 2025 regular season on the road next weekend when it travels to Providence to take on the Brown Bears. The season finale is set for Saturday (Apr. 26) with first faceoff slated for 5:00 PM. The game will also be streamed live on ESPN+.