The Crimson aren't the best lacrosse team in the Ivy League, but they look like it against Penn.
In a back-and-forth game, Harvard scored the final three goals, including one only a minute into overtime, for the 7-6 win over Penn. It is the third time in three years the Quakers have lost to Harvard. The Red and Blue are 5-5 in conference play the last two seasons - including a victory over then-No. 2 Cornell last year - but are 0-2 against the Crimson.
"They were the first team to beat us in the league [last year], so they basically ruined our road to the Ivy League championship," said senior defender Matt Kelleher. "It definitely was . disappointing because of that."
This year's matchup started off looking like a repeat of that 13-8 loss last season, as Harvard (1-4, 1-0 Ivy) stormed out to a 3-0 lead in the opening minutes. But Penn crept back in it with a few second-quarter goals. In the third, Craig Andrzejewski notched his second of the afternoon to give the visitors a 6-4 lead. That was all Penn (4-3, 1-1) could muster.
The Quakers couldn't get on the board in the fourth quarter or overtime, as Carle Stenmark tickled the twine to deal a major blow to Penn's Ivy title hopes.
"I thought Harvard was better than their record, but the bottom line is I feel like our team should have won," Penn coach Brian Voelker said. "We've got some younger guys that made mistakes, we've got some older guys that made big mistakes, and when you lose overtime games those mistakes are magnified."
It was Penn's third straight overtime game, following a loss to Maryland-Baltimore County and a win over Yale.
But this extra session was dominated by Harvard. The Crimson won the opening faceoff, took all five of the shots, claimed all three groundballs and had neither of the two turnovers.
"If you let teams hang around with you, anything can happen when it goes to overtime," Voelker said.
Looking past the lack of offensive production late in the game, there were a few bright spots.
"Holding your opponent to six goals in regulation is all you can ask for from your defense," Kelleher said.
Also, in his third start, freshman goalie Chris Casey was solid in net, notching 12 saves on 19 shots on goal.
"He made some stick-on saves and played very well," Voelker said. "He made a mistake at the end of the game [on a clear] which hurt us a little bit, but he had a really good game and made some big stops."
This inconsistency represents the struggles of a young team, and Voelker hopes that can change against the top team in the nation this weekend.
"We've only played in stretches; I don't think we've put together a full game yet," he said. "So hopefully we do it on Saturday against Cornell.
