Harvard lacked that passion as Queens leapt out to a 7-4 lead. The Crimson, digging down for motivation, rallied around the leadership of Pankau to tie the score at 7 and again at 11. At that point, another Crimson player was prophetic.
"Mike [Bookman] came into the huddle and said, 'In the next four points, someone is going to go home sad. And that someone won't be me,'" said Pankau.
Battling out the Knights for the final few points, the Crimson ran its plays to perfection and played like a team possessed by a desire to win at all costs.
"It all came down to raw skill execution," said Harvard Coach Tom Wilson. "We executed and kept our heads in the game and they didn't."
Finally, with a powerful block by Denham and Pankau, Harvard won the fifth game, 19-17, and the match, 3-2. The bench exploded and the Crimson players celebrated their first major playoff game since 1993.
Forgetting the disappointment of Princeton, the Crimson relished in the ecstasy of defeating Queens.
Harvard now must contain its excitement and focus it efforts going into the biggest game of the season against Penn State this weekend. With a solid effort against Penn State, Harvard may once again taste "the thrill of victory."
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