Harvard Avenges Spring Break Loss with Blowout

After a crushing 9-8 overtime loss at Georgetown, the No. 13 Harvard men’s lacrosse team showed its resilience by defeating Presbyterian (S.C.) College, 17-2, on Friday.

The Crimson (5-2) faced the Blue Hose (0-9) for the first time ever on a neutral site at George Walton High School in suburban Atlanta, but Harvard did not let any of these peculiarities prevent it from putting together a complete game.

Sophomore attack Dean Gibbons scored the first of his career-high five goals nearly a minute into the game off a pass from freshman attack Jeff Cohen.

Presbyterian also came out of the gates with energy and tied the game at one about three minutes into the first quarter. Cohen regained the edge for the Crimson at about the 12 minute mark and then assisted Gibbons’ second goal to provide a spark for nine unanswered Harvard goals en route to a 10-2 halftime lead.

“We took the same approach in this game as we have in every game,” Cohen said. “We’ve been a little up and down in games lately, so we tried to use this game to create a little more consistency. Overall we’re not trying to worry about who we’re playing but rather just playing the same way each game.”

Sophomore attack Matt Hull created some energy by scoring two goals within 30 seconds in the second quarter. Hull, who had scored three goals in his career entering the game, completed a hat trick with an unassisted goal at the end of the third quarter to extend the lead to 14-2. Hull also added three assists to match Gibbons with a game-high six points.

“I was pleased with the way guys responded, given that we had a quick turnaround after a disappointing and hard-fought game against Georgetown,” Crimson coach John Tillman said.

Despite concerns that his squad was drained physically, Tillman stressed the importance of gaining an early advantage.

“In college lacrosse you can see that one team can come through in a game just because they are more motivated,” he said. “We didn’t want them to get motivated, and we have worked so hard all year we didn’t want to get caught off-guard.”

Harvard shut out the Blue Hose in the second half as senior Joe Pike picked up his fourth win of the season along with four saves. Freshman Christian Coates came in for Pike at the end of the third quarter and allowed zero goals while stopping four shots. Junior Sam Michel finished the game at goalie for the Crimson and grabbed one save, pushing the group total to nine.

The goalies’ effort was tied for the best by the Crimson in over a year—since an 11-2 victory at Hartford on March 11, 2008. Harvard held a 34-14 shot advantage and grabbed 44 ground balls, led by sophomore midfielder Andrew Parchman, who claimed six.

“I was really proud of the way the guys competed today,” Tillman said. “We all felt the disappointment from the loss [against the Hoyas], but I was proud of how they picked themselves up and went out and grabbed this win.”

Playing in an area where lacrosse is still small but rapidly expanding, members of the Crimson stayed after the game to lead some skills sessions and talk to some of the Atlanta-based youth who were in attendance. In an informal gathering, local athletes enjoyed the opportunity to shoot on Harvard’s goalies and throw around.

“The game is growing all over the country, and we saw a great opportunity to bring our program to an area where lacrosse is growing,” Tillman said. “We definitely take it as our responsibility to also promote the game and do things the right way. I was really pleased with how our [team] stayed after the game to meet with the kids. It was a really cool thing for us to do.”