Men's Lacrosse Bounces Back Against Princeton

After missing out on the Ivy League Tournament last season, the Harvard men’s lacrosse team entered 2016 with one primary goal: getting back into the top half of the conference standings and earning a berth in the postseason.

On Saturday, the Crimson had a chance to accomplish just that with a win over visiting Princeton. Attackman Will Walker, one of eight senior starters looking to extend their careers beyond the regular season, knew he and his classmates had to deliver for Harvard to clinch a spot in the tournament.

With the pressure mounting after a first half in which nothing could separate the two squads, Walker took the game into his own hands in the second. Following a two-goal haul in the third quarter that broke the 7-7 deadlock, Walker received the ball again on the left side of the field with 10:26 remaining in the fourth. He shook both defenders guarding him and fooled Tigers sophomore goalie Tyler Blaisdell as well before calmly slotting the ball home.

Walker’s impressive solo effort capped a 5-0 run in which he alone scored three times. Princeton never recovered, and the Crimson cruised to a 16-12 win. Harvard (7-6, 3-2 Ivy) secured a spot in the conference tournament with the victory, while Princeton (4-8, 1-4) is officially eliminated from contention.

Both teams remain in the same positions in the standings that they were entering Saturday, at fourth and fifth respectively, but the Crimson now has a two-game advantage on the Tigers with only one game left to play for both squads. If Harvard can defeat Yale next weekend, it can move into a tie for second place.

“I’m really proud of how the senior class stepped up yesterday, especially on Senior Day and with a tournament bid on the line,” Crimson coach Chris Wojcik ’96 said. “And the way the underclassmen responded too, it’s a testament to what the whole team thinks of this year’s seniors.

Before Walker’s outburst in the second half, Harvard had a difficult time finding separation from Princeton. Although the Crimson never trailed during the first two quarters, the Tigers also never fell behind by more than two goals and managed to tie the score at 7-7 before halftime.

While Harvard saw six players contribute to the scoreline in the first half, Princeton was paced by junior attackman Gavin McBride, who found the back of the net four times. Mcbride’s final goal came with only 0:03 remaining in the second quarter, seemingly giving the Tigers the momentum as the teams headed into intermission.

“We didn’t want to change anything at halftime, because we were getting the chances we wanted” Walker said. “Second half, only difference was our middies pushed the ball up the field faster and we were able to get some goals in transition to get us rolling.”

Walker stole the show, and with it, the momentum, with his sharp play at the beginning of the third quarter. In one sequence, he took the ball in front of the goal with just a defender to beat. After faking right, he whipped a shot between his legs and past Blaisdell. Walker would finish with a game-high, and career-high, six goals on the afternoon.

“He [Walker] started the season at midfield, but he’s built up really good chemistry in attack with Morgan and Devin” Wojcik said. “It’s one of the reasons I coach, to see players develop even later on in their time here.”

Walker’s performance gave the Crimson something to rely on in a game that saw tempers run high on both sides. The contest saw a total of 14 infractions, with Princeton committing 10 of them. Harvard scored on four of these man-up chances, while the Tigers only converted one of their four opportunities.

Princeton put up a challenge at the end of the game with three goals between the 3:01 and 1:52 marks of the fourth quarter, but a double-infraction with 1:43 remaining ended any hopes of a miracle comeback.

“It was a pretty chippy game, but we’re using to playing physical every day in practice,” Walker said. “And we knew we had to stay focused because of the opportunity in front of us. In the end, we just wanted to make sure we got the job done.”

—Staff writer George Hu can be reached at yianshenhu@college.harvard.edu.