The Harvard football team almost saw its dream of an undefeated season disappear at the hands of senior Princeton kicker Taylor Northrop in Saturday’s 28-26 victory over the visiting Tigers.

Coming off a decisive 26-6 victory over Cornell, the Crimson (5-0, 3-0 Ivy) had its hands full with the Tigers (1-4, 1-2 Ivy), who nearly won the game on a last-second, 49-yard field goal attempt. Northrup’s attempt sailed wide left.

The Tigers’ defense excelled, forcing four Crimson turnovers, including three in the first half. Princeton’s offense, led by junior running back Cameron Atkinson (83 yards rushing, two TDs) and junior wide receiver Chisom Opara (111 yards) capitalized on these miscues, with a second quarter TD and field goal. Taylor Northrop’s foot, however, was the Tigers’ most potent weapon.

As a punter, Northrop averaged 41 yards per punt, including an impressive 52-yarder that gave the Tigers excellent field position throughout the game. As a kicker, Northrop successfuly connected from 43 and 42 yards out, and banged three extra-points way up off the Murr center wall. His only miscue came when it mattered most.

“I don’t really watch my balls go through [the goalposts],” Northrop said. “I look up and the ball is pretty much already through. I was [looking] down for half a second and I thought, ‘Yes, I hit it nice.’ I looked up and it did not go through. I am stunned.”

Equally stunning was the resolve of the Crimson, who was able to cope with the losses of veteran running backs Nick Palazzo and Josh Staph and quarterback Neil Rose and still escape with the victory.

Palazzo, a junior, injured his hamstring prior to the game. Because of Palazzo’s absence, Rose took to the air and began with a strong passing game, completing 10 of his 11 pass attempts and setting up two Staph TDs from the one yard line. Harvard initially appeared to be in complete control, leading 14-3 early in the second quarter.

Then, Rose threw his first interception in 111 pass attempts this season, a badly thrown ball up the middle, which was picked off by Princeton senior linebacker Chris Roser-Jones. The Tigers would score a minute later on sophomore quarterback Dave Splithoff’s nine-yard TD pass to junior tight end Mike Chiusano.

Staph left the game after aggravating an old ankle injury, and Rose was shaken up on the ensuing drive. Harvard Coach Tim Murphy replaced Rose with freshman Ryan Fitzpatrick. After a weak punt by the Crimson’s Adam Kingston, the Tigers’ offense remained effective and scored less than two minutes later on a seven-yard TD run by Atkinson, cutting Harvard’s lead to 14-10.

The Crimson offense, now led by Fitzpatrick and senior running back Rodney Thomas, faltered. Rose later returned to the game, only to throw his second interception, which was caught near the sideline by junior corner Paul Simbi. With momentum clearly on its side, Princeton added to its lead with Northrop’s 42-yarder just before the two-minute warning.

The Crimson nearly took the lead in the half’s final minute. With the ball at the Princeton 25, Rose hit senior wide receiver Sam Taylor several yards shy of the end zone. The crowd roared as Taylor bolted for the score, extending the football as far as he could, only to have it knocked loose at the goal line by sophomore strong safety Sam Snyder, leaving spectators in stunned silence. Senior linebacker Bob Farrell recovered the ball at the one, and Princeton then ran out the clock, ending Harvard’s hopes for the time.

After the disastrous ending to the half, it seemed as if the Crimson might never recover. In Harvard’s opening series of the second half, Rose threw his third interception, simply overthrowing a long pass that was run down by Simbi.

The Tigers failed to capitalize, and after a couple of lackluster drives, the Crimson finally created an opportunity to turn the game around. With seven and a half minutes remaining in the third and the Tigers facing a third-and-6 on the Harvard 38, tremendous defensive pressure forced Splithoff towards the sideline. Senior strong safety Andy Fried came up form behind and knocked the ball loose. Crimson captain and left tackle Ryan FitzGerald recovered the fumble at Harvard’s 40.

With the burden falling to the Crimson offense, Murphy pulled one his finest tricks out of the playbook. The Crimson ran a reverse to junior wide receiver Carl Morris, a part-time QB in high school, who launched a 43-yard pass to a wide-open Taylor. With the Tigers sufficiently befuddled, Thomas ran for a total of 15 yards on the next three plays to set up a second-and-goal from the two.

“He just played his heart out,” Murphy said of Thomas. “He gave us everything he could, and it was enough.”