Defense prevailed for the first half of the last period. McKenna continued to shine, turning away shot after shot to stop the Big Green attack. Sprong scored his third goal seven minutes into the fourth quarter to put Harvard up six. Gottschall scored back-to-back goals-one of them in a man-up situation-several minutes later as Harvard continued to pour it on.

Senior goaltender Ely Kahn replaced McKenna in the final 4:48 and stopped six shots while only giving up one.

"Jake McKenna was huge for us the whole season," Sprong said. "We needed him to avoid a sub-.500 season."

The win was two in a row for the injury-plagued Crimson, who ended the season on a high note after four straight losses over a two week period.

"We've had a tough season," Primm said. "It was important for us to have a game where the offense played as well as the defense."

Sprong, who played in his last game this weekend, thought the win boded well for the future.

"This is the game we'll remember over the offseason and as we leave," he said. "We're proud to end it this way. Even though our record was similar to last year's, the discipline of the team is higher than before."

One team got good memories and the pride of a winning season. The other had to settle for the bottom of the Ivy League barrel. Luckily for the Crimson, the lacrosse gods were on its side.