It had been 17 years since Harvard beat Princeton in men’s lacrosse, and now it is 18 after the No. 17 Tigers (6-4, 3-0 Ivy) pulled off an improbable comeback Saturday at Harvard Stadium, beating the Crimson (4-6, 0-3) in overtime, 9-8.

An historic victory seemed to be within the grasp of a Harvard team that never trailed until the final goal. However, with the Crimson leading 7-3 and under one minute left in the third period, Princeton mounted its comeback. Scoring five of the last six goals in regulation, the Tigers extended the game into extra minutes and Princeton attackman Bob Schneider buried his fourth goal of the game to hand Harvard the stunning loss.

“We knew they were going to come back,” tri-captain Brooks Scholl said. “They fought hard and played a great game. It’s a disappointing loss.”

The defeat comes despite the fact that the Crimson played some of its best lacrosse of the season. The offense was extremely efficient, jumping out to a 4-1 lead in the first period on only eight shots. Sophomore midfielder Jason Duboe and freshman Francis Ellis paced the offense with two goals apiece.

“Princeton certainly has a very, very good defense,” Harvard coach John Tillman said. “And they have one of the best goalies in the Ivy League, so we knew we’d have to play well and be patient.”

Harvard’s defense was equally impressive for the first 45 minutes, limiting the Tigers to only four goals. The fourth period, however, was a different story. In the final frame, Princeton won 4-of-6 faceoffs while the Crimson committed eight turnovers and managed only 2-of-6 clears. The result was constant pressure on Harvard’s defense.

Although Crimson goaltender Joe Pike did his best to stave off the Princeton attack, the Tigers cut the lead to 7-6 midway through the period. Harvard got a little breathing room when junior midfielder Jeff Wannop notched his first collegiate goal. His score came on an unassisted effort, as he circled from behind the crease, jumped, and fired a shot into the back of the net.

The two-goal cushion lasted for several agonizing minutes, but just as the torrential rain began, Princeton brought the score within one on a shot in front of the crease. The Tigers won the ensuing faceoff, and Schneider tied the game on a 15-yard rocket 40 seconds later.

“It’s a 60 minute game,” Scholl said. “You can’t say the last four minutes meant everything even though [that’s when we] let up goals.”

In overtime, Harvard nearly escaped with a victory. After winning the faceoff, Harvard worked the ball around to senior midfielder Zach Widbin who ripped a shot at Princeton goalie Alex Hewit’s feet. Hewit made an outstanding save, smothering the ball and ending the threat.

Moments later, Princeton advanced the ball downfield where it found its way into Schneider’s hands. The attackman fired a 20-yard shot into the back of the net for the game-winning goal.

“It’s obviously disappointing having a big lead late and not being able to maintain it,” Tillman said. “I thought our guys played very hard, and, in certain ways, I thought it was our best effort of the year. We just made too many mistakes down the stretch.”

“It could have gone either way,” said Scholl. “I’m really proud of our guys…Everyone played their butt off for 60 minutes, and that’s all I can ask from them. Everyone played really hard. We wanted this game badly, and it just didn’t go our way.”