M. Lax Falls to Notre Dame

The Harvard men's lacrosse team saw its four game winning streak snapped last Saturday at home when it lost to eleventh-ranked Notre Dame 7-6 in sudden-death overtime.

Harvard's co-captain and attackman Mike Eckert scored with 2:26 remaining in the fourth period on a Chris Wojik assist to give Harvard a 6-5 advantage--a lead it could not hold on to. With 40 seconds left in regulation, Notre Dame senior mid-fielder Jimmy Keenan tied the score at six and forced the game into overtime.

In the four-minute overtime, the No. 12 Crimson won the first possession but failed to initiate any type of offensive threat. With 2:13 remaining, Keenan broke the statemate and won the game off of an ugly goal.

Harvard junior goalie Rob Lyng rejected a Notre Dame shot, but Keenan somehow managed to win the loose ball in the crease and flipped it in one-handed.

It wasn't a great way for the Crimson to end such a hard-fought game.

"I can't think of a worse way to lose," Eckert said. "The defense plays great for a minute and a half [in overtime]...its a tough way to go."

"Its kind of lucky--a loose ball in the crease," Notre Dame coach Kevin Corrigan said. "Its not like we set up a great play and executed to perfection--we just had a kid step up and get the ball and make a play on it."

Harvard was up 3-1 at the half thanks to a brilliant goal from Eckert with two seconds remaining in the second period. The Crimson seemed to be firmly in control of the game.

Despite an early goal from co-captain Chris Wojcik that gave Harvard a 4-1 lead, the Fighting Irish came out swinging in the second half.

A Crimson three-minute penalty in the third and fourth quarters was a crushing blow to the team. Notre Dame wasted no time in capitalizing off of the opportunity as it scored two goals to tie the game at five.

"I think they realized in the second half they were going to have to play us a lot tougher on defense and a lot smarter on offense," Lyng said. "So they came out and they did the smart stuff--they played the smart, patient offense and we fed it by throwing the ball away on offense."

For both teams, the story of this game was not the offense but the defense. Notre Dame's defense, which is notoriously stingy, was literally impenetrable during the second half.

"For 29:15 we held them to two goals," Corrigan said. "When you can hold them to two goals in the half that's great defense because they're a very good offensive team--there's no question about that."

But give the Crimson defense credit--giving up only seven goals in a collegiate lacrosse game is an accomplishment that should be applauded.

"This is Division I...its a great defensive effort only to let up seven goals against the eleventh-ranked team in the nation," Lyng said.

Harvard's unusual lack of offensive can partly be explained by a key part of Notre Dame's game strategy--to focus its defensive efforts on Harvard's potent attack line. By specifically trying to force Harvard away from attackmen Eckert and Ferrucci, who are critical to the Harvard offense, Notre Dame effectively held the attack to a measly three goals.

"I kept looking at the game all day like we would pull away from them at some point and really get our offense going, but it just didn't happen," Harvard coach Scott Anderson said.

Things are not as bad as they seem. Harvard did not collapse offensively or defensively in the game and never seemed to lose its intensity. The Crimson still has a chance to redeem itself this Wednesday at Brown in a crucial Ivy League matchup.

Hopefully for Harvard, the offense can get back to its old self. Notre Dame  7 Harvard  6

NOTRE DAME, 7-6 at Ohiri Field Notre Dame  0  1  2  3  1  --  7 Harvard  1  2  2  1  0  --  6

G: Notre Dame--Keenan (2), Glifillan, Reid, Mahoney, Dusseau, Erickson, DeRiso.; Harvard--Eckert (2), Wojcik, Marvin, Ferrucci, L. Bevilacqua, J. Bevilacqua. A: Notre Dame--Keenan (2), Glifillan, DeRiso. Harvard--Eckert, Wojcik (2), Marvain, J. Bevilacqua. S: Notre Dame--Cade 9; Harvard--Lyng (17).

NOTRE DAME, 7-6 at Ohiri Field Notre Dame  0  1  2  3  1  --  7 Harvard  1  2  2  1  0  --  6

G: Notre Dame--Keenan (2), Glifillan, Reid, Mahoney, Dusseau, Erickson, DeRiso.; Harvard--Eckert (2), Wojcik, Marvin, Ferrucci, L. Bevilacqua, J. Bevilacqua. A: Notre Dame--Keenan (2), Glifillan, DeRiso. Harvard--Eckert, Wojcik (2), Marvain, J. Bevilacqua. S: Notre Dame--Cade 9; Harvard--Lyng (17).

G: Notre Dame--Keenan (2), Glifillan, Reid, Mahoney, Dusseau, Erickson, DeRiso.; Harvard--Eckert (2), Wojcik, Marvin, Ferrucci, L. Bevilacqua, J. Bevilacqua. A: Notre Dame--Keenan (2), Glifillan, DeRiso. Harvard--Eckert, Wojcik (2), Marvain, J. Bevilacqua. S: Notre Dame--Cade 9; Harvard--Lyng (17).