BOSTON, Mass. – In a ranked battle between the only two Division I lacrosse teams in Boston, the No. 3 Harvard Crimson (8-0, 2-0 Ivy) pulled away late to defeat the Terriers (5-4, 3-1 Patriot) in a relentless battle and earn a 14-11 win. The Crimson are now off to its best start since the 1961 season with its 8-0 run to begin 2026.
 
Graham Stevens stole the show, posting a career-high 22 saves to lead Harvard to its second straight Charles River Rivalry victory. Jack Speidell led the way on offense, posting six points with four goals and two assists in another stellar offensive effort for the Crimson.
 

Harvard Highlights

• Graham Stevens was the star of the game, making a career high 22 saves including 13 in the first half.
• Jack Speidell reached the 100-career points milestone after leading the team with six points and four goals.
• Andrew Perry had his best outing of 2026, scoring three goals and one assist.
• John Aurandt recorded a hat-trick with three goals on the night.
• Owen Guest picked up a team-high five ground balls and added an assist.
• Logan Ip recorded his 100^th career point in the game and chipped in with two goals and one assist on offense.  
• Charlie Muller and Finn Jensen each has two caused turnovers.

 

How it Happened

• The Crimson made the 1.7 mile journey across Boston this evening to take on the Boston University Terriers in a ranked matchup at Nickerson Field. The teams met in the second annual Charles River Rivalry game, which pits the Crimson and Terriers – the only two Division I lacrosse teams in Boston – against one another in a fight for Boston bragging rights.
• The Terriers made the first move in a back-and-forth first quarter, throwing two early goals on the board. Harvard's ride and clear units settled in after a hectic start, causing a turnover on a failed clear and getting the ball to a wide-open Jack Speidell, who scored Harvard's first goal of the game to make the score 2-1. That started a three-goal run for the Crimson, who took a 3-2 lead after goals from Andrew Perry and Teddy Malone.
• BU leveled with its third tally of the contest at the 6:21 mark of the opening quarter. Harvard retook the lead after Jack Speidell found Logan Ip in the middle of the BU defense. Ip rose and fired a shot into the back of the net for his first goal of the night and his 100^th career point with the Crimson. The Terriers got level again with a goal late in the quarter, tying up the game at 4-4 at the end of the first.
• Graham Stevens was tested by the Terriers early and often in the contest and was up to the task in the early going. The sophomore made 10 saves on the first 15 shots he faced to keep the Crimson in the mix through the first half.
• Speidell added to his point total in the second quarter, putting Harvard up 5-4 by scoring a race-around goal that was scored from an impossible angle. BU did not shy away and used a two-goal mini run and solid defense in the second quarter to take a 6-5 lead. Harvard could not answer, going into the halftime break down 6-5.
• The first half battle featured five lead changes and four ties.  
• Harvard came out of the halftime break firing on all cylinders and mounted a 5-0 run for the first 12-plus minutes of the third quarter. John Aurandt IV and Andrew Perry each scored back-to-back goals in the run that was capped off by an EMO strike from Perry. Ip added the fifth goal in the run to help Harvard build a 10-6 lead.
• BU posted two goals in the final three minutes to cut into the Crimson advantage and make the score 10-8 after three quarter. Graham Stevens made his 19^th save of the game during the run to set a new career-high.
• The Terriers made another move to start the fourth quarter, tying the game with two straight goals in the first 3:23 of the final quarter. Harvard took advantage of the BU 10-man ride to retake the lead, using back-to-back goals from Cobery and Speidell to make the score 12-10. Cobery scored on the fast-break and Speidell launched a dart from just over midfield. The strike from Speidell went down as his 100^th career point in just his 33^rd career game with the Crimson.  
• BU answered with its 11^th goal of the contest, but Harvard responded quickly with another goal from Speidell to make the score 13-11. The intensity raised to another level late in game, with BU turning up the energy on defense and causing a pair of Crimson turnovers. The Terriers could not convert on the other end, however, as Stevens continued his tirade with another trio of saves to keep BU off the board.
• Aurandt added a late insurance goal to put Harvard over the top and send the team off with a 14-11 win over the Terriers.
• Harvard retained the bragging rights to the city of Boston with the victory, its eighth straight victory to begin the 2026 season.

Up Next

Harvard will take a flight down to Baltimore this weekend for another challenging non-conference matchup. The No. 3 Crimson will battle the No. 4 North Carolina Tar Heels at Archbishop Williams School in Baltimore on Sunday (Mar. 29) in a marquee matchup. Game time is set for 2:00 PM and all the action will air live on the Corrigan Sports Network.
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