Men’s Lacrosse Knocks Off No. 6 Princeton, Defeats Tigers for First Time Since 1990

Photo courtesy: Kevin Burns Photography

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Kevin Vaughan tallied three goals and Dean Gibbons scored twice and added an assist, as the Harvard men's lacrosse team topped No. 6 Princeton by a score of 11-8 Saturday afternoon. Before 2,827 fans on Senior Day at Harvard Stadium, the Crimson used a 4-2 run in the second quarter to grab a 6-4 lead, which Harvard never relinquished in its first victory over the Tigers since 1990, a span of 19 straight games.

With the win, the Crimson remains alive for a spot in the Ivy League tournament, as Harvard improves to 6-5 overall and 2-3 in the Ancient Eight. Princeton drops to 9-3 overall and 4-1 in the Ivy League.

Harvard carried a 2-1 lead into the second quarter, as Vaughan and Gibbons each found the back of the net in the opening stanza. In the second, the Crimson went on a three-goal run, moving ahead 5-2, with 4:40 to play in the half. Jason Duboe started the run with a score at 6:26, followed by a tally by Andrew Pataki only 30 seconds later. Peter Schwartz capped the run with an unassisted goal at 4:40. After back-to-back goals by the Tigers, Terry White closed the second quarter with a goal after receiving a pass from Travis Burr with 16 seconds remaining.

The Crimson, which led, 6-4, at the break, held a 25-20 lead in shots and a 16-10 advantage in ground balls through two quarters of action.

In the second half, Jeff Cohen opened the scoring with a tally at 14:41 of the third quarter, while Dean Gibbons netted Harvard's lone man-up goal of the game at the 10:26 mark. With the Crimson owning an 8-5 advantage entering the final quarter, Princeton cut the lead to two as Scott MacKenzie fired a shot by Harvard goalkeeper Harry Krieger at 12:35.

At the 7:47 and 3:44 marks, Vaughan notched consecutive goals, giving the Crimson a four-goal cushion, 10-6. In the final minute of regulation, Evan Roth put the game out of reach, as he made it an 11-7 contest with only 35 seconds to go.

Princeton outshot Harvard, 25-12, in the second half to hold a 45-37 advantage for the game. The Crimson enjoyed a 31-25 edge in ground balls, while going 16-of-18 on clear attempts. Alex White collected a team-best eight ground balls and won 12-of-21 faceoffs. Krieger finished the game with 13 saves.

The Crimson closes out the regular season in a crucial matchup at No. 11 Yale Saturday, May 1 at 1 p.m. Harvard needs to grab a win over its archrival to be in position to qualify for the Ivy League tournament.