CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Off to its best start since the 1996 season, the No. 9/10 Harvard men's lacrosse team will continue its challenging schedule this weekend when it hosts the University of Pennsylvania Quakers. The Crimson (8-2, 2-1 Ivy) will look to keep rolling after another nationally ranked win last week while the Quakers (4-7, 1-3 Ivy) will look to bounce back after a string of losses. The Ivy League rivals will battle it out at Jordan Field and on ESPN+ this Saturday (Apr. 12) with the first faceoff set for 1:00 PM.
 

What to Know

Who: No. 9/10 Harvard vs. Penn
When: 1:00 PM, Saturday, April 12
Where: Jordan Field / Boston, Mass.
Event: Youth Game 
What's Happening?: Post game Autograph Session; Autograph Card Giveaway; Pet Bandana Giveaway; Free Food courtesy of UberEats (while supplies last); Face-Painter; Caricature Artist 
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 comes into the matchup with an 8-2 record and a 2-1 mark in Ivy play.
• The Crimson's record is the best through 10 games since the 1996 season.
• Head Coach Gerry Byrne and his team just posted their fifth ranked victory of the 2025 season, the most in his tenure as head coach.
• Harvard defeated the No. 18 Dartmouth Big Green, 18-7 last weekend in a dominant defensive showing.
• The Crimson ride still ranks No. 1 nationally with opponents clearing the ball at just a 72-percent clip.
• The team has caused five or more failed opponent clears in nine of its ten games.
• Harvard has played the fourth-hardest schedule in the nation.
• Jack Speidell was named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week after scoring six goals and notching seven points against the Big Green.
• Speidell now ranks 10^th nationally with 3.20 goals per game.
• Sam King ranks sixth nationally 5.20 points per game.
• Martin Nelson caused two turnovers against Dartmouth and extended his streak of two-plus caused turnover games to seven straight.

 

By the Numbers

5 – Ranked wins for the Crimson this season after defeating No. 18 Dartmouth, the most in a season in the Byrne era.
5 – Players with 10 or more caused turnovers on the Crimson.
9 – Assists per game for Harvard, the third highest total in the country.
12 – Caused Turnovers for Gerry Byrne's defense this season, the second highest total nationally.
15 – Goals per game for the Crimson, the third-best scoring average in the nation.
16 – More points for Sam King until he ties the all-time program record of 243.
21 – Saves over the past two games for Graham Stevens.
25 – Positive winning margin in the past three games for the Crimson.
28 – Ground balls for Sam King this season, the second most by an attack in the country.
37 – Percent shooting clip for the Harvard offense, the fourth-best mark in the NCAA.
7,268 – Fans who have seen the Crimson play at Jordan Field this season, the 11^th-most in the country.
 

In the National Rankings

• Harvard moved into the top 10 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine Rankings, taking over the No. 9 spot.
• The Crimson came in at No. 10 on the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll in week nine.
• The USILA Coaches slotted the Crimson at No. 10 on their poll.
• Harvard is ranked as the No. 5 team in the NCAA RPI after 10 games played.

 

The Matchup

As the race to the Ivy League Tournament begins, Harvard will take on the Penn Quakers in what will be a key conference battle. The Crimson is seeking its first win in the series since the 2013 season having fallen in the last 10 matches. With Harvard currently sitting at 2-1 in the league standings, a win over Penn this weekend and a Princeton win over Brown would lead to the Crimson clinching its first Ivy League Tournament berth since the 2016 season.
 
Despite the recent success for Penn, the all-time series between the Ivy rivals has been relatively even, with the Quakers owning a slight 46-44-2 lead. The 93^rd meeting in the series will take place this Saturday, April 12, at Jordan Field and on ESPN+.  
 

Quick Check on Penn

The 4-7 Penn Quakers will make the trip up to Boston this weekend to battle the Crimson in what will be the penultimate Ivy League game for the squad. The team is currently on a four-game skid after a 4-3 start to the campaign that featured wins over No. 17 Delaware, Villanova and Brown. Penn's losses include narrow defeats to Yale (11-14), No. 18 St. Joseph's (10-11), No. 14 Georgetown (6-8) and Dartmouth (8-9 (OT)).
 
As a team, the Quakers own the nation's 60^th ranked scoring offense with its 8.91 goals per game output this season. The group's defense, however, has locked down opponents this season allowing just 10 goals per game to its opposition. Emmet Carroll has been the anchor of the defense this season, locking down the crease with a 9.91 GAA, .536 save percentage and 11.45 save per game, all of which rank in the top 30 nationally.
 
Junior midfielder, Griffin Scane, is the team's leading scorer with 24 points and 20 goals on the season. Senior attackmen Ben Smith and Cam Rubin aid the offensive effort with a combined 33 goals, 11 assists and 44 points. Defenders Matthew Till and Brendan Lavelle have been key contributors on the defensive side of the field, combining for 20 caused turnovers and 40 ground balls this season.
 

Player History vs. Penn

The Crimson has a large group of players returning with experience over the Quakers. Sam King's eight goals and three assists leads the offense while Ray Dearth's seven ground balls and two caused turnovers pace the defensive effort. Logan Ip owns four points with Owen Gaffney and Andrew Perry each posting three in their careers against Penn. Defensively, Logan Darrin (2gb, 1ct) and Charlie Muller (2gb, 2ct) also return with key experience in the series.
 

Making the Climb

The Crimson has risen into the top ten in one of the three major media polls this week after another strong victory over the No. 18 Big Green. The USA Lacrosse Magazine rankings have the Crimson slotted in the nine spot, giving Harvard its first appearance in the top 10 of a major media poll since the 2016 season. Inside Lacrosse and the USILA Coaches both have Harvard in the No. 10 spot on their respective lists with the placement being the highest under the current Frisbie Family Head Coach for Harvard Men's Lacrosse, Gerry Byrne.
 

Best Start in Almost 30 Years

With an 8-2 record through ten games, the 2025 Harvard men's lacrosse team is off to its best start since the 1996 team, who matched the current squad's record. It is just the 11^th time in the nearly 150-year history of the program that a team has reached the 8-2 mark through 10 games played.
 
 Harvard's winning percentage of .800 is currently the seventh-best in the NCAA.
 

Ivy League Player of the Week

After a career effort in a win over No. 18 Dartmouth last weekend, Harvard men's lacrosse sophomore attack, Jack Speidell has been named the Ivy League's Men's Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week. A Long Island native, Speidell recorded six goals and one assist to post a career-best seven points for the No. 11 Crimson in the victory. The attackman scored four goals in the first quarter of the game to help the Crimson get off to a 7-0 lead after 15 minutes and a 9-0 lead before Dartmouth finally got on the board in the second quarter. Harvard would eventually emerge with an 18-7 win over Dartmouth to give the team its eighth win of the season. 
 

On the Ride

The Crimson ride remains the top unit in the nation after another strong showing in the transition game against Dartmouth. Harvard forced eight failed Dartmouth clear attempts in the contest and now has held its 2025 opponents to a clearing percentage of 72.4 to solidify its national leader status. Harvard has forced six or more failed clears in seven of its ten games this season.
 
The Harvard ride is sparked by a group of relentless attackers including Jack Speidell, Sam King and Teddy Malone who have combined to post 17 caused turnovers, nearly all of which occur on the ride. King's 11 CTOs are second on the team and second nationally amongst attack.
 

Boys are Buzzing

Harvard has outscored its last three opponents by a combined score of 51-26 dating back to March 25. The +25 margin is the largest over a three-game stretch for HLX since the 2001 season, when it defeated Providence (8-4), Boston College (21-5) and Holy Cross (18-5) to begin the season for a margin of +33. It is also the second year in row where Harvard has put up 51 goals in a three-game stretch.
 

On Point

The Crimson continues to be one of the best shooting teams in the nation, posting the nation's fourth-best shooting percentage at 33.6-percent. Jack Speidell and Logan Ip lead the charge with shooting clips of 44-percent and 43-percent, respectively. Those totals are also put the duo at No. 15 and No. 18 in the nation.
 

Speidell Senses

After missing a large portion of his first-year season due to injury, Jack Speidell is beginning to hit his stride on the attack for the Crimson. The Long Island native has now scored five or more goals in his past three games and just hit the six-goal mark for the first time in his career against Dartmouth. Over the past three games, Speidell has scored 11 goals and notched 12 points and now sits 10^th in the nation with 3.2 goals per game.
 

Causing Chaos

Already reached the caused turnover total of 123 from the 2024 season. With three games left the team is just nine away from breaking the program record of 132 set in the 2022 season.
 

Inside Lacrosse Midseason All-Americans

Sam King and Logan Ip were honored by Inside Lacrosse last week, earning Midseason All-America spots. King landed on the First Team while Logan Ip was an honorable mention. King, a 2024 Inside Lacrosse Third-Team All-American, landed on the team alongside Cornell's CJ Kirst and Syracuse's Joey Spallina.
 

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 124 career goals, 103 assists and 119 ground balls to his name and ranks third in team history with 227 career points.
 

Milestone for Malone

Teddy Malone notched three points last week against Dartmouth to reach the 100-career points milestone. A Delaware native, Malone owns 69 career goals and 33 assists to total 102 career points through two-plus seasons. The Haverford school product is on pace to reach 100 career goals, which would put him in the top-10 in HLX history.
 

Up Next

Harvard men's lacrosse will have one of its toughest tests of the season next week when the current national No. 1 Cornell comes into town for an Ivy League battle. The Crimson and the Big Red will dance on Jordan Field at 12:00 PM and on NESN in a contest that could have huge implications in the Ivy League Tournament standings.