CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – A packed crowd witnessed history at Jordan Field this afternoon, as No. 13 Harvard men's lacrosse earned its first ever win against the No. 1 team in the nation. Behind stellar play on both sides of the field, the Crimson pulled off the 13-12 upset win against No. 1 Syracuse.
Harvard (3-0, 0-0 Ivy League) showed incredible resilience and mettle in a back-and-forth clash against a Syracuse (3-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) side that advanced to the NCAA Tournament Semifinals last season, utilizing a 3-0 run with under five minutes left in regulation to pull off the upset.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Graham Stevens stonewalled a highly touted Syracuse attack, ending the day with a season-high 14 saves. Offensively, two Crimson recorded hat tricks against the Orange, as sophomore
Nathan Cobery and senior
John Aurandt IV each recorded three goals. The Crimson's faceoff unit also found success against Syracuse, as junior
Owen Umansky matched his season-best with 13 wins.
Harvard Highlights
- Harvard earns the programs first ever victory against a team ranked No. 1 in the USILA Coaches Poll with the thrilling 13-12 triumph against Syracuse. Harvard is now 2-1 against Syracuse in the last year.
- The Crimson held Syracuse to its first scoreless quarter of the season, as Harvard also held the Orange to a season-low four goals at the halftime break.
- Aurandt and Cobery each record the first hat trick of their Crimson careers.
- Nine different Crimson recorded at least one point, as Aurandt, Cobery, senior Andrew Perry, senior Logan Ip and senior Teddy Malone all recorded multiple points.
- Umansky matches his season high in faceoff wins with 13, ending the day with a 13-for-27 showing from the x.
How it Happened
- In front of a packed crowd at Jordan Field, Harvard and Syracuse met for the third time in the past two seasons.
- Harvard orchestrated the opening goal quickly in the first quarter, scoring within the first two minutes of the contest. After junior Jack Speidell forced a turnover on an Orange clear attempt, Perry raced past his marker and beat the keeper low for the opening strike.
- From there, Syracuse won three consecutive faceoffs to end the quarter, ending the frame on 4-0 to take a three-goal lead into the second quarter.
- Harvard flipped the script in the second quarter, dominating on both sides of the field to produce a 5-0 run.
- Back-to-back goals from Aurandt brought the Crimson within one just five minutes into the second quarter against. Moments later, Harvard leveled the score, as Guest found Ip who buried a long-range effort to tie it up at four all with 9:14 left in the first half.
- The Crimson regained the lead on the man-up opportunity. Ip was once again influential in the Crimson's offensive strategy, as the senior captain connected with Perry to put Harvard up by one.
- With only 18 seconds left in the second period, Harvard added to its advantage, as Speidell found the back of the cage for the first time this afternoon pouncing on a rebound that flew off the cross bar.
- Stellar defensive and offensive play provided Harvard a 6-4 lead heading into the halftime break. Harvard held Syracuse to a scoreless quarter for the first time this season, as Syracuse's four goals at halftime is also a season low. Harvard's defense also held the Syracuse man-up offense to a 1-for-4 showing across the first two quarters at Jordan Field.
- At the faceoff X, Umansky shined for the Crimson, winning six out of the 12 faceoffs in the first half.
- Perry and Aurandt each tallied two goals in the first half, as Ip also finished the first half with two points on a goal and an assist.
- Both sides continued to go back and forth in the third quarter. Syracuse opened the second half with a 3-0 run to regain the lead at 7-6.
- The Crimson answered with a 3-0 run of its own. After firing off a pair of shots on goal following a faceoff win by senior Matt Barraco, the Crimson leveled the score again thanks to a solo effort from senior midfielder Francisco Cortes.
- Harvard regained the lead just 29 seconds later. Hustle continued to pay off for Crimson, as Cobrey fought through contact to put Harvard ahead.
- With just over five minutes left in the third quarter, the Crimson offense continued to find success, extending the lead to three following unassisted strikes from Corbey and Malone.
- Syracuse halted the Crimson run with just 2:10 left in the third quarter, as Harvard took a 10-8 lead into the final quarter of regulation.
- The Crimson registered 11 shots in the third quarter, as Umansky collected four more key faceoff wins.
- The fourth quarter started with Syracuse continuing its run, as the Orange recorded five-straight goals to take a 12-10 lead with 6:27 left in the contest.
- With just 5:03 on the clock, Harvard orchestrated a legendary run, scoring the last three goals of the contest to pull off the upset of the top-ranked Orange.
- Aurandt's third goal of the afternoon pulled Harvard within one, as a sensational run from Jordan through the heart of Syracuse's defense led to the tying goal. Jordan's goal against the Orange is his first of the season and only his third career goal.
- Harvard manufactured the winning goal with only 50 seconds on the clock. As he did the entirety of the contest, Aurandt dictated the Crimson's offense, evading his defender and finding Cobery wide open at the mouth of goal for the game-winner.
- Defensively, the Crimson secured the win on Syracuse's last possession, as Stevens made a vital save to secure the historic 13-12 upset win against the top-ranked Orange.
- Harvard ended the contest with 26 shots on goal, as Stevens recorded a season-high 14 saves in the cage. Offensively, nine different Crimson recorded a point against Syracuse, as Aurandt led the way with four points, three goals and one assist. Cobrey also recorded three goals against the Orange.
UP NEXT
Harvard hits the road for the first time this season on Saturday, Feb. 28, as the Crimson travel to Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York to face BIG EAST foe Marquette in a noon neutral site clash.
