No. 19 Men's Lacrosse Heads to No. 17 Yale with Spot in Ivy League Tournament on the Line

Photo courtesy: Gil Talbot Photography

Complete Game Notes (PDF)
Live Statistics
Ivy League Standings
Ivy League Tournament Scenarios
Alex White Named Ivy League Rookie of the Week
Vote Jason Duboe for Lowe's Senior CLASS Award

The Particulars
The 19th-ranked Crimson looks to grab a spot in the Ivy League tournament, as Harvard concludes the regular season by visiting No. 17 Yale.

The Crimson enters the game with a 2-3 mark in Ivy League play, while sporting a 6-5 overall record.  The Bulldogs are 9-3 overall and 3-2 in the Ancient Eight.

Check out Photos of Harvard Men's Lacrosse Players on Replay Photo

Win And In
If Harvard defeats Yale, the Crimson will earn a berth in the inaugural Ivy League tournament, to be played at the home site of the regular season champion.  Entering the final weekend of play, Princeton (4-2 Ivy) is the only team to have clinched a spot, while Penn (1-5 Ivy) is the only team to have been eliminated from postseason contention.  Yale also needs to win Saturday's game to guarantee a spot in the tournament.

Follow From Home
Live statistics will be available for Saturday's game at GoCrimson.com.  No video stream will be available.

Series History
In 89 previous meetings between the archrivals, Yale boasts a 57-32 lead in the all-time series, which began in 1882.  The Crimson has won five of the last six meetings between the schools, including a 13-8 victory last season at Harvard Stadium. In that contest, Joe Pike '09 made 11 saves, while Jeff Cohen scored five goals and Jason Duboe added two goals and three assists for the Crimson.

Score Early
The Crimson boasts a 5-2 record when the team nets the game's first goal.  

A Win For The Ages
Kevin Vaughan recorded a hat trick and Alex White won 12 faceoffs and snared eight ground balls, as the Crimson upset No. 6 Princeton April 24.  With the win, Harvard snapped a 19-game losing streak to the Tigers, dating back to 1991.  Harry Krieger earned his fourth victory of the season between the pipes, making 13 saves.  

Duboe Is All Class
Senior midfielder Jason Duboe is among 10 finalists for the prestigious Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for displaying both on-field and off-field excellence. Fans can vote for Duboe at SeniorCLASSAward.com.  To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be a senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: classroom, character, community and competition.

When The Game Is On the Line
Terry White, Kevin Vaughan, Jack Doyle, Christian Oberbeck and Dean Gibbons have
notched Harvard's game-winning tallies.  Vaughan leads the team with two game-winners.

Defense Wins Games
Harvard is outscoring other teams in every quarter except the first (28-38).  The Crimson is outscoring opponents, 66-55, in the second half.
 
Ivy League Tournament Coming in 2010
Beginning this season, the Ivy League will hold four-team tournaments to decide the conference's automatic qualifying institutions to the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Lacrosse Championships.  Each tournament will include the top four teams in Ivy League regular season round-robin competition and will be hosted by the round-robin winner.  

The winners of the Ivy League championship will continue to be determined by results of the conference's round-robin competitions during the regular season.

Pacing The Ivy League
Dean Gibbons is fourth in the conference with 3.55 points per game, while Jeff Cohen ranks tied for fourth in the Ancient Eight with 2.27 goals per game.  Harvard stands tied for second with 11.00 goals per game, ranks second in man-up offense (18 of 41, .439) and is also second in saves per game (10.91).

Scoring Streak
Jeff Cohen has earned at least one point in all 24 games during his career, dating back to his first game in a Crimson uniform last season.  During the scoring streak, which ranks tied for 14th longest in the nation, the sophomore attacker has amassed 58 goals and handed out 14 assists for 72 points, the most of any Harvard player during this stretch.

Strength Of Schedule
Seven of Harvard's 12 regular-season games are against schools ranked in this week's Nike/Inside Lacrosse Men's Division I poll.  The Crimson is currently 2-4 against ranked opponents after beating No. 18 Massachusetts, 14-13, March 13 and upsetting No. 6 Princeton  by a score of 11-8 April 24.

Possession Is The Name Of The Game
Harvard has won 147-of-272 faceoffs (.540), with 62 of those victories credited to Andrew Parchman and another 56 to Alex White. The Crimson has collected a total of 299 ground balls and has been successful on 178-of-225 clear attempts (.791). Alex White paces the Crimson with 34 ground balls, while Jeff Molinari and Daniel DiMaria have grabbed 31 each. Harvard is 5-1 when it picks up more ground balls than opponents.

Crimson Among The Nation's Best
Entering the week, Harvard ranked 11th in the country in man-up offense (.442), 14th in scoring offense (11.0 goals per game) and 19th in faceoff win percentage (.540). Individually, Dean Gibbons stands 23rd with 3.55 points per game, while Gibbons and Jeff Cohen are tied with 2.27 goals per contest.

Leading the Way
Dean Gibbons paces the Crimson with 39 points on 25 goals and 14 assists, while Jeff Cohen is second with 25 goals and eight assists for 32 points.  Gibbons leads the way with six goals on man-up opportunities, while Cohen has notched five man-up goals.

To The Nines
The Crimson is 4-0 this season when opponents score less than 10 goals.  Harvard has won 37 of its last 47 games in which it has scored nine or more goals. The Crimson has lost 40 of its last 48 games in which it has scored fewer than nine goals.