After all the hype that surrounded a No. 12 preseason ranking and the third-best recruiting class in the country, the Harvard men’s lacrosse team has a better chance of finishing dead last in the Ivy League than becoming one of the top four teams who will be invited to the inaugural Ivy League lacrosse tournament.

The Crimson is currently tied for fifth place with Dartmouth and only a half-game ahead of last place Penn. While Harvard is still mathematically eligible to qualify for the Ivy League tournament that will determine the automatic qualifiers to the NCAA tournament, it most likely needs to win out against No. 6 Princeton and at No. 13 Yale.

Cornell, Princeton, and Yale are guaranteed to finish above Harvard, and it would take Brown losing out to force a fourth-place tie between the Bears and the Crimson.

This season, Harvard has posted a 1-3 record against Top 20 opponents, with the lone win coming March 13 in a 14-13 victory over No. 16 UMass.

Beating the Tigers may not be as daunting as it seems. Aside from a 16-2 pillaging of Dartmouth last weekend, all of Princeton’s conference wins were by two goals or less.

The Crimson is 4-2 when scoring the first goal, so look for Harvard to want to get off to a quick start. If not, a fight for the postseason will turn into a fight to avoid finishing last in the Ivy League.