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With a coast-to-coast, third quarter, man-down goal from senior goalie Christian Barnard setting the tone for the second half of play, the Harvard men’s lacrosse team (1-0) struck gold in its season opener against Providence with a decisive 23-7 victory. The team remains undefeated against the Friars, boasting a perfect 5-0 record against its opponent.

The first quarter of play was gridlocked between the two squads, with the Crimson drawing first blood on an unassisted goal from sophomore attacker, and The Crimson’s 2023 Rookie of the Year, Teddy Malone. Malone worked the two-man-game with junior middie Miles Botkiss, beating his defender around the left side of the crease with a shifty split dodge from the X that allowed him to get a step on his defender on the switch and bury the ball in the low left corner. Providence answered back immediately, winning possession on the next face off. After about a minute of play, Friars middie Ryan Bell ripped a righty side-arm sniper low from the top of the fan off an easy pass. Bell smartly used Crimson SSDM Ray Dearth as a screen, blocking his shot from Barnard to set up an easy goal with lots of time and space.

Senior attacker Graham Blake, who was sidelined for much of the 2023 season due to injury, was an electric contributor on the offensive end for the Crimson. Starting on the attacking unit alongside junior attacker Sam King – who was named to the 2024 Tewaaraton Award watch list – and Malone, Graham made an instant impact, notching an impressive hat trick in the first quarter. The team’s offense, which at times struggled to get hot last season, started the season off strong. The depth of Frisbie Family Head Coach Gerry Byrne’s bench was put on full display, with ten Crimson players notching goals, including two for sophomore middie John Aurandt IV and one for freshman middie Michael Smyth.

“It was fun [to be back]. It was nice to get out there at the end of last year, but I feel comfortable and the other guys on offense made it super easy,” Blake said. “A majority of our goals were assisted and everyone was moving in good spots”

Despite snow squalls intermittently impacting visibility throughout the first quarter, the Harvard bench ended the first 15 minutes of play with a 6-4 lead over the Friars. After the brief intermission, the Crimson stormed back onto the field with a revitalized energy, squashing any hope of a Providence victory with a dominant shutout in the second. Posting five goals from four players, the squad’s offense continued to steamroll over its opponent.

The team’s offensive dominance stemmed from an outstanding performance by junior FOGO Andrew DeGennaro at the faceoff X. After posting a sub-50 percent record last season, the junior’s work during the offseason paid off as he went 9-10 in the first quarter. Winning a majority of the clamps, DeGennaro was able to dish the ball out to his supporting wings, which were frequented by familiar faces in senior LSM Greg Campisi, junior captain and SSDM Andrew O’Berry, junior LSM Martin Nelson, and junior SSDM Ray Dearth, among others. Byrne also rotated in freshman Owen Umansky, who was touted as being one of the premier faceoff recruits in the nation. The increase in possession time enabled the offense to settle and work through its sets, spreading out wide to make use of its space.

Spacing was a big area of focus for the team and for offensive coordinator Neil Hutchinson throughout fall ball, and was a huge factor in the offensive success against the Friars. By spreading out wide and creating lanes, the offense was able to utilize the pick game – like in Malone’s first goal – and cut through the middle for feeds from behind. Despite resulting in a one-minute locked in penalty with 3 minutes left to play, sophomore offensive middie Griffin Pokorny scored on a shifty split dodge down the right alley, sniping a low bouncer as the Friar’s defense was unable to slide for help. Pokorny’s momentum downhill carried him through the crease after the ball crossed the goal line where he collided with the Providence netminder. After celebration from the Harvard offense, and praise from the ESPN announcers for his “deliberate” and “aggressive” play, a flag was thrown and the goal was overturned on the penalty. Exactly two minutes later with 1:03 left in the first, Ip was able to reinstate the team’s fifth goal on the board.

“We have a lot of really great players this year and we have a lot of buy-in,” Blake said. “I think we have probably ten different attackmen who are all really really good and have been grinding all year. It’s the product of a lot of hard work and great coaching as well.”

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The final play of the quarter was quarterbacked by Blake, who scored on a decisive cut to the doorstep off a feed from King with less than a second left to play. Byrne called a time out with 16 seconds remaining in the first in an effort to retain possession of the ball amid a struggle for the rebound on an errant take by Malone. The reset allowed Byrne to draw up a play for his unit, with Malone carrying the ball down the right side where he switched fields, swinging the ball behind the cage to Blake who saw King pop out in the right alley, to whom he promptly hit on the elbow. King, in his typical fashion, hastily made his way to the cage with four seconds left, drawing the double team from the Providence defense. The Friars’ low defender made the mistake of sliding upfield to meet King, leaving a lane for Blake to sneakily slide beneath him on the doorstep. King, whose head was up for the entire quarter, made the pass to Blake through traffic. Blake caught the ball cross-handed, keeping his feet moving towards the cage, finishing the play with a low back-hander that eeked over the doorstep. Because the other attackers stayed spread out and held their space, Blake was able to attack the open lane, which would have been much easier for the Friars to defend had the attack been sagging in.

The offensive middies, led by returning stars in Botkiss, junior Joe Dowling, sophomore Logan Ip, and Aurandt, were joined by some of Byrne’s impressive rookie class. Freshman Jackson Greene made his start early in the game, joining the first line offensive middies. Greene notched one point, an assist, in his collegiate debut. Greene, alongside first years Jack Petersen and Michael Smyth, will be players to watch in the squad’s upcoming contests. In an interview with Byrne regarding the team’s 2024 season, the coach remarked that he felt “poised to play between six to eight first years this spring.” Byrne’s squads, as seen over the last few years, tend to boast a strong crop of incoming players. However, it was his returning starters who made an impact against the Friars. Dowling, whose off-ball movement created opportunity for his line, tallied one assist, and Ip totaled three points with two goals and an assist.

“I think we have some of the most talented freshmen in the country. Every single one of them, I guarantee you, will play in really big moments as Harvard lacrosse players and I think a lot of that is going to happen this year,” Blake said. “They are great guys, and they fit in culturally and on the field better than you ever could have hoped.”

The team’s ride, which ranked third in the nation last season, looked strong against Providence, holding the team to a .789 clearing percentage. The scrappiness between the thirties was a hallmark of the determination the team showed for the full 60 minutes, and translated into an intensity new to the team this season. The squad never let its foot of the gas, playing hard and fighting for every possession. Perhaps it comes from a more seasoned squad leading the helm, or a desire to redeem last season’s shortcoming and near bid to the Ivy Tournament; either way, in a fashion similar to the upset win against Cornell last April, the team looked like it wanted and deserved the victory.

The addition of penalty review in college lacrosse, which resulted from a close-call that potentially altered the outcome of the NCAA tournament game that saw Duke topple Penn State 16-15 in overtime, was a monumental factor in penalty time during Saturday’s matchup. Duke won on a diving shot by middie Garrett Leadmon. The shot was controversial because upon replay from ESPN Leadmon clearly violated the crease, yet from the referee’s vantage point, he declared that Leadmon had not landed in the goalmouth before the ball crossed the goal line. The lacrosse community is divided on the idea of penalty review, with supporters saying it will help with close-calls on crease dives and improve safety as refs can analyze contact to the head and more appropriately dole out penalties. However, review – in contexts outside of championship games – slows down the pace of play and risks hindering the cadence of the game.

“The speed of the game and the athleticism of the athletes is so electric that the referees need technology to help them discern penalties and goals,” Byrne said.

Each coach will be granted one review per half that they can use to challenge certain scenarios such as whether a loose ball crossed the goal line, whether a player crossed the crease before the ball entered the goal, or to determine if a player entered the crease as a result of illegal contact. Each coach will also be granted two timeouts per half and one additional stoppage for each over time period. If a challenge is unsuccessful, the coach will be “charged” at timeout, and if the challenge is correct, the coach will retain that timeout. As such, a coach must have at least one timeout remaining in order to challenge a play. The review must be called for within 30 seconds of the end of the play, and any goal scored by either team during that time will be voided.

In addition to coaches being able to review plays, the referees will also be able to replay certain moments of the game and potentially escalate their penalties for certain infractions. In order for the refs to review, the on-field official must have initially cited potential contact to the head or neck. There are three scenarios that the NCAA has permitted the officials to reconsider, the first being indirect contact to the head or neck, the second being direct contact, and the third being “excessive or flagrant” contact to the head with “possible expulsion.”

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The Crimson bore the brunt of this rule change, with two of its penalties being escalated from one-minute possible contact to the head infractions to two two-minute locked-in direct contact to the head violations. The first review was called for shortly into the second quarter and put the Crimson down two men. Sophomore defenseman Charlie Mueller took a knee for thirty seconds for a push, and sophomore SSDM Owen Guest was sidelined for a locked-in two minutes for direct contact to the head. Guest was initially flagged for a potential contact to the head violation. The contact was a result of Guest throwing his body into a driving Friar attackman who flew past Dearth as he was barrelling towards the goal. Guest stepped in from the left side, knocking into the shooter who was letting the ball fly well above the crossbar, sending him sprawling to the turf. The man-down unit was able to keep the Providence offense at bay for the entire flag.

“The start of the video review rule in College Lacrosse had an adverse effect on our team on Saturday but will be a positive for our sport in the long run,” added Byrne.

The man-down unit, which played lockdown defense throughout the 2023 season, struggled against the Friars’ fast-paced offense. Allowing the man-up unit to strike on two of its four opportunities, the Crimson defense got caught ball watching, which allowed Providence to attack Barnard from a wide-open back side. Analyzing the skip pass and maintaining speed on its second slides will be a focus for the team as it faces off against Bryant on Tuesday.

“I think we have to be more alert on the switches, and faster with thinking ahead of the opponent,” freshman LSM Joost de Koning said.

Before going man down, King opened up scoring for the second half, capitalizing on an assist from O’Berry. O’Berry intercepted the ball at the midline, taking advantage of the attackers’ ability to sag back and lock-down their defenders on the ride, hitting King with a leading pass down the right side of the field where he was able to breakaway and burry the ball low in a one-on-one with the goalie. The bench erupted with a cacophony of cheers, and the momentum from the goal carried through for the rest of the quarter.

The next penalty review went against Dearth in the third quarter, whose violation escalated from a one-minute potential contact to the head to a two-minute locked-in contact to the head. Despite the disadvantage, the man-down unit kept the attack at bay. Barnard made an impressive stop on the doorstep, stuffing a Providence attacker diving underneath the approaching Crimson slide. The referee stopped the play and returned possession to Harvard, calling for a penalty on the grounds of a crease violation. The Friars immediately locked down their Crimson counterparts, but left Barnard wide open with time and space to make a play. The veteran goalie saw his opportunity, and pushed the ball up midfield before crossing the 50, racing to the goal without drawing a single Providence slide. After sniping the corner, he drew a late hit from a Providence defender which knocked him to the turf. With the flag flying and the bench going crazy, the penalty would neutralize the effect of Guest’s, and grant even more momentum to the dominant Harvard squad. The goalie goal put the Crimson up by 10 with eight minutes left to play in the third.

The squad coasted through the remainder of the third and fourth quarters, tallying eight more goals and only allowing the Friars to score twice. Towards the end of the fourth quarter Byrne subbed in a majority of his roster, giving minutes to senior SSDM Fred Asare-Konadu, senior offensive middie Mark Stephens, junior goalie George Alvarez, and junior offensive middies Liam Griffiths and Lucas Hilsenrath, amongst others.

“Our starters were playing great, and I knew that I was going to have a chance to get in there, and they kept rolling, so I just fed off that energy,” de Koning said.

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Overall, the team performed remarkably well in its season opener, a testament to Byrne’s coaching throughout the offseason. The low defense, which is missing the commanding presence of junior Tommy Martinson, worked cohesively throughout the contest, doing a great job of talking through picks and tricky rotations. The inclusion of sophomore LSM Sean Jordan, who made his return after a severe injury at the start of last season, and de Koning, were welcome additions to the defensive lines. De Koning in particular adapted well to the fast-pace of Division I lacrosse, tallying two ground balls and a CTO in his first collegiate performance.

Heading into its next game against Bryant, the team will look to capitalize on its momentum. The theme of the game, and what led to such a decisive victory, was the team’s desire for success. Bringing that champion-mindset into Tuesday’s matchup will be crucial in securing another win against a scrappy foe.

“Bryant is a really good team, so I’m not really sure [what we’ll be working on] yet. But, I think that we’ll watch film and see where their strengths are,” Blake said. “They are always really gritty and work hard so we’ll see what we need to improve on from watching the film.”

The Crimson will welcome the Bryant Bulldogs to Jordan Field on Tuesday at 7pm, and the game will also be streamed live on ESPN+.
—Staff writer Katharine Forst can be reached at katharine.forst@thecrimson.com