According to those who know him best, Kevin Vaughan is not a guy who seeks the spotlight.

But after the Harvard men’s lacrosse team’s win over Princeton, the spotlight is definitely finding him.

Last Saturday at Harvard Stadium, the sophomore attack notched three tallies and scooped four ground balls as the Crimson (6-5, 2-3 Ivy) defeated then-No. 6 Tigers (9-3, 4-1), 11-8.

“The game was huge,” sophomore attack Jeff Cohen said. “It was a historic win for the program—we hadn’t done it in 20 years.”

Vaughan likewise expressed how important the victory was for the team and lacrosse alumni alike.

“There were a lot of alumni there who hadn’t beaten [Princeton],” Vaughan explained. “It was nice to get the win for them and for the seniors on Senior Day.”

But the win did not come easily.

“It was a dog fight for most of the game,” coach John Tillman said. “It was very back and forth…[Kevin] scored some important goals for us.”

In the fourth quarter, Vaughan found the back of the net twice for his second and third goals to give Harvard a four-point lead—its biggest of the game—with 3:44 left to play.

Yet, when asked how he felt about being such a large part of the win, Vaughan was quick to downplay his contribution.

“The coach asked me to do certain things,” Vaughan said. “I was just doing my job; [it was] nothing exceptional.”

According to Tillman, though, Vaughan’s success with his “job” is exactly what makes him exceptional.

“The thing that makes him very helpful for us is that he’s very versatile,” Tillman said. “By plugging him into different spots, we can have other players play to their specific strengths…Kevin has no problem taking on different roles depending on what the team needs.”

Part of this adaptability, Tillman further explained, is the result of Vaughan’s unique blend of skills.

“An attack is sometimes...a pure scorer. Other times, [he] is maybe somebody who gets a lot of assists, feeding the ball and setting up the team. Other times, [he] is more of a leader,” he said. “Kevin is a little bit of all of those things.”