Not only was the Crimson executing in front of the cage, it was outrunning the Friars on both ends. Most telling is the procession of groundballs over the course of the game. Harvard out-dug Providence 31-20 for the game and got more dominant as the afternoon got old, scooping four in the first period, seven in the second, nine in the third and eleven in the final frame.

Behind 4-0, the Friars finally found the back of the net with over 35 minutes already gone in the game.

David Kole and Kyle Ojakian cut the Crimson's lead in half, feeding one another on two man-up goals late in the period. Christian's goal a few minutes later put the game out of reach, however, and the Crimson coasted the rest of the way.

Freshman Jeff Gotschall stretched the lead to four with his first collegiate point at 13:33, and another freshman, attackman Ian Callery found Buttles a couple of minutes into the fourth for the senior's fourth strike of the game.

Callery later extended the lead to 8-2 after a pass from sophomore midfielder Jay Wich.

Freshman Jake McKenna was solid between the pipes, although he was not tested much in the 45 minutes he stood on the line. He had four saves before senior Ely Kahn took the last 15 minutes and made one stop.

For the Crimson, Buttles' four goals were a good sign that its marquee offensive player has shown up ready to play this season. Buttles has been chosen a pre-season candidate for the Teewarton Award, a new honor given by the Virginia Athletic Club at the end of the season to the most outstanding college lacrosse player.