M. Lax Stuns No. 15 Penn, Falls to Duke

The Harvard men's lacrosse team turned some heads last week, delivering an impressive split with Top 20 foes Pennsylvania and Duke.

The Crimson (2-3, 1-0 Ivy), which has been plagued by inconsistent play in the early going this season, put itself back on the right track with an impressive 8-7 overtime victory over the No. 15 Quakers (5-3, 0-2) at Ohiri Field on Mar. 27.

"We attribute our slow start to two things," sophomore midfielder Roger Buttles said. "First of all we are a young team, so as we gain confidence you can see our improvement. And second, we haven't been able to practice outdoors as much as we'd like, so it puts us at a disadvantage against some of the other teams." PENN  7 HARVARD  8 HARVARD  9 DUKE  14

"But now that we are playing outside we are clearly gaining confidence and improving."

Leading the way for Harvard was Buttles, who clinched the game for the Crimson by firing a bullet over Penn goalie Matt Schroeder's right shoulder in overtime for the victory.

"This was a really important win for the team, because it was within the Ivy League," Buttles said. "It was our first big win of the season, so it was a good confidence-builder."

Buttles opened up the scoring for Harvard by putting the Crimson on the board with an unassisted tally at the 10:06 mark. After a Quaker score at 4:48, Buttles struck again for his second goal of the day on an assist from freshman midfielder Michael Baly for a 2-1 lead.

Despite starting off strong, the Crimson allowed Penn to knot the score at two after the first quarter and found itself behind 4-2 at the half.

Baly opened up the second half with a goal tocut the lead to 4-3 with 11:49 left in the third,but Harvard allowed back-to-back goals to theQuakers, as Penn opened up its biggest lead on theafternoon, 6-3.

Harvard did not wilt, however, as Buttlesscored to cut the lead to two at the end of threeperiods. Baly then added another score fiveminutes into the fourth quarter bringing Harvardto within one.

Penn answered the Crimson scores with anothergoal of its own, making the score 7-5. But onceagain Harvard fought back, as junior midfielderGeoffrey Watson scored an unassisted goal with6:05 left in regulation.

With the Penn lead at one goal, the Crimsonturned up the offensive pressure, and finallybroke through as Buttles scored his fourth of fivegoals on the day on a feed from sophomore attackerDana Sprong.

Buttles's goal sent the game to overtime, wherehe netted the game-winner. For his five-goaleffort against the Quakers, Buttles was named IvyLeague Player of the Week.

After its exciting come-from-behind victoryover Ivy foe Penn, the Crimson had to gear itselfup for a battle against No. 2 Duke (6-0, 2-0 ACC)on Saturday.

But despite a gutsy effort against thepowerhouse Blue Devils, Harvard came up short,falling to Duke 14-9 in New Canaan, Conn.

The unranked Crimson came out of the boxsmoking, as it surprised the Blue Devils with twofirst-period scores to take a 2-0 lead into thesecond quarter. Freshman attacker Colin Leary andBaly provided early scoring for Harvard.

The early score served as a wake-up call forDuke, however, as it answered back with five goalsin the second period against just two for Harvard,to take a 5-4 lead into the intermission.

Despite allowing five second-quarter goals,Harvard junior goalie Keith Cynar did his part tokeep the game close, recording 16 first-halfsaves--many of which were against point-blankshots.

As the second half began, Duke picked up whereit left off in the first, quickly scoring fourgoals against only one for the Crimson to open upa 9-5 lead. Harvard continued to fight, however,and found itself trailing 10-7 as it headed intothe fourth period.

The Blue Devils proved to be too much in thefourth quarter, however, as the Crimson seemed tosimply run out of gas. Duke scored on four of itsseven shots in the period, while Harvard couldmuster only two scores of its own, putting thefinal score at 14-9.

Junior attacker Lawson DeVries netted fourgoals on the afternoon to lead the Crimson, whileBaly added two scores of his own.

Despite losing to Duke, Harvard comes out ofspring break with renewed confidence, pleased withwhat it has accomplished. The Crimson defeated anIvy rival and nationally-ranked Penn, and hungtough with one of the nation's top teams in Duke.

"We are happy to get out to a good start in theIvy League," Buttles said, "And we are confidentthat we can do well the rest of the way."CrimsonPaul S. GutmanRUNNING WITH THE DEVILS:JEFF PSAKI(31) and the Harvard men's lacrosse team stoppedNo. 15 Penn 8-7 in overtime before losing to No. 2Duke, 14-9 on Saturday.

"But now that we are playing outside we are clearly gaining confidence and improving."

Leading the way for Harvard was Buttles, who clinched the game for the Crimson by firing a bullet over Penn goalie Matt Schroeder's right shoulder in overtime for the victory.

"This was a really important win for the team, because it was within the Ivy League," Buttles said. "It was our first big win of the season, so it was a good confidence-builder."

Buttles opened up the scoring for Harvard by putting the Crimson on the board with an unassisted tally at the 10:06 mark. After a Quaker score at 4:48, Buttles struck again for his second goal of the day on an assist from freshman midfielder Michael Baly for a 2-1 lead.

Despite starting off strong, the Crimson allowed Penn to knot the score at two after the first quarter and found itself behind 4-2 at the half.

Baly opened up the second half with a goal tocut the lead to 4-3 with 11:49 left in the third,but Harvard allowed back-to-back goals to theQuakers, as Penn opened up its biggest lead on theafternoon, 6-3.

Harvard did not wilt, however, as Buttlesscored to cut the lead to two at the end of threeperiods. Baly then added another score fiveminutes into the fourth quarter bringing Harvardto within one.

Penn answered the Crimson scores with anothergoal of its own, making the score 7-5. But onceagain Harvard fought back, as junior midfielderGeoffrey Watson scored an unassisted goal with6:05 left in regulation.

With the Penn lead at one goal, the Crimsonturned up the offensive pressure, and finallybroke through as Buttles scored his fourth of fivegoals on the day on a feed from sophomore attackerDana Sprong.

Buttles's goal sent the game to overtime, wherehe netted the game-winner. For his five-goaleffort against the Quakers, Buttles was named IvyLeague Player of the Week.

After its exciting come-from-behind victoryover Ivy foe Penn, the Crimson had to gear itselfup for a battle against No. 2 Duke (6-0, 2-0 ACC)on Saturday.

But despite a gutsy effort against thepowerhouse Blue Devils, Harvard came up short,falling to Duke 14-9 in New Canaan, Conn.

The unranked Crimson came out of the boxsmoking, as it surprised the Blue Devils with twofirst-period scores to take a 2-0 lead into thesecond quarter. Freshman attacker Colin Leary andBaly provided early scoring for Harvard.

The early score served as a wake-up call forDuke, however, as it answered back with five goalsin the second period against just two for Harvard,to take a 5-4 lead into the intermission.

Despite allowing five second-quarter goals,Harvard junior goalie Keith Cynar did his part tokeep the game close, recording 16 first-halfsaves--many of which were against point-blankshots.

As the second half began, Duke picked up whereit left off in the first, quickly scoring fourgoals against only one for the Crimson to open upa 9-5 lead. Harvard continued to fight, however,and found itself trailing 10-7 as it headed intothe fourth period.

The Blue Devils proved to be too much in thefourth quarter, however, as the Crimson seemed tosimply run out of gas. Duke scored on four of itsseven shots in the period, while Harvard couldmuster only two scores of its own, putting thefinal score at 14-9.

Junior attacker Lawson DeVries netted fourgoals on the afternoon to lead the Crimson, whileBaly added two scores of his own.

Despite losing to Duke, Harvard comes out ofspring break with renewed confidence, pleased withwhat it has accomplished. The Crimson defeated anIvy rival and nationally-ranked Penn, and hungtough with one of the nation's top teams in Duke.

"We are happy to get out to a good start in theIvy League," Buttles said, "And we are confidentthat we can do well the rest of the way."CrimsonPaul S. GutmanRUNNING WITH THE DEVILS:JEFF PSAKI(31) and the Harvard men's lacrosse team stoppedNo. 15 Penn 8-7 in overtime before losing to No. 2Duke, 14-9 on Saturday.

Baly opened up the second half with a goal tocut the lead to 4-3 with 11:49 left in the third,but Harvard allowed back-to-back goals to theQuakers, as Penn opened up its biggest lead on theafternoon, 6-3.

Harvard did not wilt, however, as Buttlesscored to cut the lead to two at the end of threeperiods. Baly then added another score fiveminutes into the fourth quarter bringing Harvardto within one.

Penn answered the Crimson scores with anothergoal of its own, making the score 7-5. But onceagain Harvard fought back, as junior midfielderGeoffrey Watson scored an unassisted goal with6:05 left in regulation.

With the Penn lead at one goal, the Crimsonturned up the offensive pressure, and finallybroke through as Buttles scored his fourth of fivegoals on the day on a feed from sophomore attackerDana Sprong.

Buttles's goal sent the game to overtime, wherehe netted the game-winner. For his five-goaleffort against the Quakers, Buttles was named IvyLeague Player of the Week.

After its exciting come-from-behind victoryover Ivy foe Penn, the Crimson had to gear itselfup for a battle against No. 2 Duke (6-0, 2-0 ACC)on Saturday.

But despite a gutsy effort against thepowerhouse Blue Devils, Harvard came up short,falling to Duke 14-9 in New Canaan, Conn.

The unranked Crimson came out of the boxsmoking, as it surprised the Blue Devils with twofirst-period scores to take a 2-0 lead into thesecond quarter. Freshman attacker Colin Leary andBaly provided early scoring for Harvard.

The early score served as a wake-up call forDuke, however, as it answered back with five goalsin the second period against just two for Harvard,to take a 5-4 lead into the intermission.

Despite allowing five second-quarter goals,Harvard junior goalie Keith Cynar did his part tokeep the game close, recording 16 first-halfsaves--many of which were against point-blankshots.

As the second half began, Duke picked up whereit left off in the first, quickly scoring fourgoals against only one for the Crimson to open upa 9-5 lead. Harvard continued to fight, however,and found itself trailing 10-7 as it headed intothe fourth period.

The Blue Devils proved to be too much in thefourth quarter, however, as the Crimson seemed tosimply run out of gas. Duke scored on four of itsseven shots in the period, while Harvard couldmuster only two scores of its own, putting thefinal score at 14-9.

Junior attacker Lawson DeVries netted fourgoals on the afternoon to lead the Crimson, whileBaly added two scores of his own.

Despite losing to Duke, Harvard comes out ofspring break with renewed confidence, pleased withwhat it has accomplished. The Crimson defeated anIvy rival and nationally-ranked Penn, and hungtough with one of the nation's top teams in Duke.

"We are happy to get out to a good start in theIvy League," Buttles said, "And we are confidentthat we can do well the rest of the way."CrimsonPaul S. GutmanRUNNING WITH THE DEVILS:JEFF PSAKI(31) and the Harvard men's lacrosse team stoppedNo. 15 Penn 8-7 in overtime before losing to No. 2Duke, 14-9 on Saturday.