CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The No. 3 Harvard Men's Lacrosse team puts its undefeated record on the line this weekend when it travels to Maryland to face off against No. 4 North Carolina in a highly anticipated top five showdown. The Crimson (8-0, 2-0 Ivy) have surged through its early slate, but the Tar Heels (8-1, 0-0 ACC) present a challenging matchup in a marquee matchup between two of the nation's top contenders. The neutral site showdown will take place at the Archbishop Williams School in Severn and is set to air live on Corrigan Sports Network.
 

What to Know

Who: No. 3 Harvard vs. No. 4 North Carolina
When: 1:00 PM EST, Sunday, March 29
Where: Archbishop Spalding High School / Severn, Md.
What: Shootout for Soldiers – Military Appreciation
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 at Byrne-Method.com
 

Quick Hits

• The Crimson improved to 8-0 on the season with a 14-11 victory over No. 20 Boston on Tuesday in the second annual Charles River Rivalry Game.
• Harvard is 8-0 for the first time since 1961 and is off to its best start under the Frisbie Family Head Coach for Harvard Men's Lacrosse, Gerry Byrne.
• Logan Ip was named the Ivy League's Offensive Player of the Week after recording a career-best six points against Dartmouth.
• Harvard is 3-2 in neutral site games under Byrne and 3-5 against teams ranked in the top five nationally.
• With a shooting percentage of .377, Harvard ranks first in the nation.
• The Crimson has posted an average win margin of 5.50 goals, the sixth highest clip in the country.
• Teddy Malone and Jack Speidell lead the team with 33 points each.
• Led by Offensive Coordinator, Neil Hutchinson, the Crimson offense is the most efficient unit in the nation, scoring on 40.5 percent of its possessions.
• The Crimson is ranked seventh in the latest NCAA RPI Poll (Mar. 24).
• Nathan Cobery and Logan Ip are two of the most accurate shooters in the nation, scoring on 55.2 and 50.0 percent of their shots to rank second and fourth in the nation, respectively.
• John Aurandt IV has recorded 25 points in his last six games and has already reached his single season high with 26 points this season.
• Harvard became just the second team in program history to reach the 8-0 mark, joining the 1961 group.
• The 8-0 mark represents the best start to a season for an Ivy League school since 2016 when Brown and Yale both began 8-0.

 

By the Numbers

3 – Wins over top five teams under Gerry Byrne.
4 – Players with Ivy League weekly awards this season (Teddy Malone, John Aurandt IV, Graham Stevens and Logan Ip).
5 – Or more opponent scoring droughts of 15 or more minutes for Harvard this season.
5 – Players with 20 or more points on the Crimson.
7 – Ivy League weekly awards for Harvard this season.
8 – Times Harvard has allowed one or fewer goals in a quarter this season.
9 – Times Harvard has scored five or more goals in a quarter this season.
10 – Caused turnovers for SSDM Owen Guest this season, tied for the third most in the nation by a non-defender or LSM.
12 – Four or more goal scoring runs for the Crimson in 2026.
25 – Points in the last five games for John Aurandt IV.
33 – Points for Jack Speidell and Teddy Malone, who share the team lead.
50 – Percent shooting percentage for Logan Ip this season, the fourth best clip in the country.
75 – Goals allowed by the Harvard defense through seven games.
65 – Years since a Harvard team opened a season 8-0.
101 – Career goals for Teddy Malone.
119 – Goals scored by the Harvard offense this season.
 

In the National Rankings

NCAA RPI – 7
USILA Coaches Poll – 3
Inside Lacrosse Media Poll – 3
USA Lacrosse Magazine Rankings – 3
Lacrosse Reference LaxELO – 11
NEILA Coaches Poll – 1
 

Scouting North Carolina

• UNC comes into the matchup with an 8-1 record and a No. 4 national ranking.
• The Tar Heels are 1-0 in neutral site games this season, posting a 10-8 win over Penn State during the Crown Classic in Charlotte (Mar. 14).
• Coach Breschi's group has posted ranked wins over Johns Hopkins (Feb. 20), Penn (Feb. 27) and Army (Mar. 21) this season.
• The group's only loss came in a road matchup at Princeton (Mar. 1).
• Attack Owen Duffy leads the offense with 38 points and 24 assists. His 2.67 assists per game are fifth-best in the country.
• Dom Pietramala is the team's leading scorer and owns 25 goals on the season.
• Peter Thomann (10 ct) and Kai Prohaszka (7 ct) are UNC's top close defenders.
• One of the top faceoff specialists in the nation, Brady Wambach, owns a 70.0 win percentage and 151 faceoff wins this season. The Tar Heels own the best faceoff percentage in the nation with a .667 win percentage.
• First-year goalkeeper Josh Marcus has shined in his first collegiate season, posting a .479 save percentage and a 9.11 GAA through nine starts.
• The Carolina offense has scored 14.67 goals per game to rank sixth in the NCAA.
• With a goals allowed clip of 9.0, UNC owns the ninth-best scoring defense nationally.
• According to Lacrosse Reference, UNC owns a 34.5-percent offensive efficiency rating to rank eighth in the country.
• North Carolina has dominated time-of-possession this season, owning a 55.6-percent share in its game to rank second in the country.

 

Crimson vs. Tar Heels - Series History

• The Crimson and the Tar Heels have met 6 times in the series history.
• Harvard trails in the all-time series with a 2-4 record.
• The first meeting between the schools came back in 1953, a 17-6 win for Harvard.
• The Crimson last played UNC in 2019, a 16-11 win for the Tar Heels.
• The teams did meet on the field in a scrimmage during the 2022 Bob Kemp Classic.

 

Active Stat Leaders vs. ACC Schools

Goals: Teddy Malone (9), Andrew Perry (8)
Assists: Teddy Malone (4), John Aurandt IV (4)
Points: Teddy Malone (13), John Aurandt IV (11)
Shots: Teddy Malone (22), Andrew Perry (20)
SOG: Teddy Malone (16), Andrew Perry (12)
Ground Balls: Charlie Muller (8), Ip/Malone (6)
Caused Turnovers: Charlie Muller (5), Owen Guest (2)
Faceoffs: Matt Barraco (12), Jackson Henehan (3)
Saves: Graham Stevens (38)
Goals Allowed: Graham Stevens (39)
 

Against the ACC

• Harvard is 2-3 under ACC schools under Gerry Byrne.
• All-time, Harvard is 12-42 against current ACC member schools.
• The Crimson defeated the only other ACC team on its regular season schedule during its historic upset against No. 1 Syracuse.

 

Lacrosse Reference Metrics

• Harvard is ranked 11th in the Lacrosse Reference LaxELO rankings.
• The Crimson owns the most efficient offense in the nation, scoring on 40.5 percent of its possessions.
• In defensive efficiency, Harvard ranks 16th nationally, allowing goals on just 26.3-percent of defensive possessions.
• Harvard's shooting percentage of 38.0 ranks first in the country.
• It's cumulative efficiency of 43.2-percent ranks third in the NCAA.
• Harvard has posted efficiency clips of 39.8 and 47.7 percent on possessions that start with a defensive stop or a ground ball/turnover, respectively. Those marks are No. 1 and No. 2 nationally.
• The Crimson's game control percentage – the percent of game time where a team owns a win probability of 75-percent of higher – ranks sixth in the nation with a 73.4 percent clip.
• The team's strength of record – +1.64 expected wins – is the third best mark nationally.

 

At the Helm

The Frisbie Family Head Coach for Harvard Men's Lacrosse, Gerry Byrne, is in his seventh season at the helm of the program in 2025-26. The team has experienced success under Coach Byrne, posting a 40-24 record and a 13-13 mark in Ivy League action.Byrne has guided the Crimson to two NCAA Tournaments and last season helped lead the team to a spot in the Ivy League Tournament for the first time since 2016.
Most recently, Coach Byrne made history, becoming the first head coach to lead his team to a win over a No. 1 ranked team in program history. The Crimson now owns a 3-5 record against top five teams under Byrne.
 

Offensive Firepower

Picking up where it left off in 2025, Harvard's offense – led by the Associate Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator Neil Hutchinson – has continued to turn in impressive performances in 2026. The offense ranks inside the top 10 in the NCAA with a 37.7-percent shooting clip (1st), 22.75 points per game (7th), and 14.88 goals per game (4th). Harvard has scored 119 goals this season to post the third best scoring start in program history. The total is second to only the 2024 team (127 goals) and the 1961 team (120 goals) for its pace through eight games.
 

A Game of Runs

In its current eight-game winning streak, Harvard has shown its ability to pull away from its opponents by going on impressive scoring runs. Most notably in the game against Michigan (Mar. 7), Harvard used a 13-2 run in the final 40 minutes of the game to pull away and post a 17-7 victory. The streak featured two scoring runs of six goals. Harvard has posted 12 scoring runs of four or more goals this season.
 
In the last contest against No. 20 BU, Harvard used a five-goal run in the third quarter to take back the lead and fuel an eventual win.
 

Bullseye!

The most accurate team in the nation, Harvard owns a shooting percentage of 37.7 on the season which is the best clip in the country. Led by two of the most consistent shooters in the NCAA, Nathan Cobery (2nd, 55.2-percent) and Logan Ip (4th, 50.0-percent), Harvard has worn down opposing goaltenders with its ability to get shots on target. 65.2-percent of Harvard's shots have been on cage this season, one of the best marks in the country.
 
Harvard posted a 50-percent shooting percentage against Marquette (Feb. 28) with 19 goals on 38 shots. The clip was the highest in a game since the 2023 season when Harvard scored 23 goals on 43 shots against Providence. It was just the fourth time the team has eclipsed the 50-percent shooting clip in a game since 2010.
 

The Crimson Shield

Through eight games, Harvard has allowed just 75 goals to its opposition which represents the lowest total through eight contests for the Crimson since 1980 (62 GA). The team has forced 128 turnovers and caused 69 of those turnovers this season in eight relentless defensive efforts. Harvard has hit the ground often as well, grabbing 255 ground balls compared to 240 by its opponents.
 
A testament to the team's defensive efficiency and consistency, Harvard has held opponents scoreless for 15-plus minutes five times this season. The Crimson defense held Michigan scoreless for 15-plus minutes twice in the neutral site game in Texas (Mar. 7). Harvard's defense also did not allow a goal to Michigan in the fourth quarter, the first time the team has shutout an opponent in the final frame since it did so to Bucknell in 2023. The Crimson has posted a shutout in every quarter this season and has allowed one or fewer goals in a quarter eight different times this season.
 

Logan Ip: Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week

For the second time in his career, Logan Ip was awarded the Ivy League's Offensive Player of the Week award. The senior captain earned the honor by notching a career-best six points with four goals and two assists against Dartmouth. Ip scored two of his goals late in the fourth quarter to help Harvard pull away.
 
Harvard leads the league with seven weekly honors – two awards each for Stevens, Malone and John Aurandt IV along with this week's award for Ip– this season.
 

Teddy Reaches the Century Mark

Senior attack Teddy Malone passed the 100 career goals milestone in the matchup against Dartmouth (Mar. 20) to become just the 12th player in program history to score 100 goals. Now with 101 career tallies, Malone owns sole possession of 10^th place on the Crimson's all-time scoring list. The Delaware native currently leads the team with 33 points and 24 goals on the season.
 

Spidey and His Amazing Friends

One of the most talented attackmen in the Ivy League, Jack Speidell is picking up where he left off in 2025. A dynamic playmaker, Speidell has shown off his ability as a distributor this season, leading the team with 12 assists. A Team 91 LI alum, Speidell now owns 33 points on the year to share the team lead. The St. Anthony's product produced a nine-point outburst against Marquette (Feb. 28) the highest total for a Crimson player since Sam King '25 reached the same total in the 2025 matchup against Marquette.
 

Stevens The Stopper

Sophomore goalkeeper, Graham Stevens, has been excellent in 2026 for the Crimson, saving shots at a 60-percent clip and allowing just 9.48 goals per game. The metrics rank third and 19th in the country, respectively. Stevens has made 13.88 saves per game, a number that ranks in the top five nationally.
 
Most recently, Stevens posted a career-best 22 saves in a win over No. 20 Boston University in the Charles River Rivalry game.
 

It's Not How You Start

The 2026 Harvard men's lacrosse squad recently became just the second team in program history to reach the 8-0 mark and the first team to do so in the NCAA era. As the coach of the 2024 and 2026 teams, Byrne becomes the first head coach in HLX history to lead a team to two separate 6-0 starts.
 

Up Next

Harvard will return to Ivy League play next week when it hosts the Brown Bears at Jordan Field. The tilt is scheduled for Saturday, April 4, with first faceoff set for 1:00 PM. All the action will air live on ESPN+.