Men's Lacrosse: Tigers look for revenge at Harvard

No. 13 Princeton (8-3 overall, 4-0 Ivy League) has clinched one of the top three spots in the Ivy League tournament, while its host, Harvard (6-6, 2-2), is still looking to clinch a spot in the four-team season-ending event.

A win against the Crimson would assure the Tigers of one of the top two seeds and would likely set up a winner-take-all showdown with No. 3 Cornell for the regular-season conference championship.

Though they are coming off of a high-flying 21-6 win over Dartmouth last weekend, the Tigers will also carry some heavy baggage to Cambridge. Princeton has lost its last two matches against Harvard, with last year’s game at 1952 Stadium ending in a 9-8 letdown.

“Managing the game, understanding the time and tempo of when to make shots was critical at Dartmouth,” head coach Chris Bates said. “We’ve been effective with piecing together our possessions.”

Bates explained that last week’s performance means the Tigers need to continue peaking as they come to the end of the season.

“[Earlier], we’ve made decisions at critical times that hurt us,” Bates said. “So we need to understand good times to push the ball.”

The match against the Crimson will certainly test the Tigers’ defense, as Harvard has put up at least 10 goals in every one of its wins this season. Princeton has allowed only 6.82 goals per game, tied for fourth in the nation.

“Their offense has put balls in the goal week in and week out,” Bates said. “It’s going to be a double-digit game for sure.”

Leading the Crimson is senior attackman Jeff Cohen, who has taken a quarter of his team’s shots and scored a third of his team’s goals this season. Cohen has netted 44 goals this season and has served as a moderate support system for teammates, with eight assists in the year, third-highest on the Crimson squad.

“Cohen’s clearly the focus of our scouting reports this week,” Bates said. “We want to minimize his presence as much as possible.”

Harvard attackman Daniel Eipp has been the next main support line for the Harvard team, with 23 goals and a squad second-highest 16 assists.

Meanwhile, last week’s win over Dartmouth should signal to Tiger fans that Princeton has offensive depth. Four Tigers ended the game with three goals each, including junior midfielder Luke Armour, who has seen limited playing time due to injuries.

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The cast of Tiger offensive contenders leaves Princeton in a situation to convert possessions with a veteran cast around the crease.

“If we generate a lot of shots then I’m sure we can generate the goals needed for the win,” Bates said.

The matchup is especially interesting for Tiger fans as Harvard has been anchored down at goal by freshman Jake Gambitsky, who has played in goal for about two-thirds of the Crimson’s game time.

Gambitsky currently only has a 47.7 percent save rate. Bates said he was not particularly worried about the presence of a new face at goal.

“He’s good, but he’s still a freshman,” Bates said. “So he’s been a little bit up and down at times.”

Ultimately, the game leaves itself as a survival effort for the Tigers, who are trying to keep their perfect Ivy League record intact and put themselves in a better post-season position.

“When it comes down to it, it’s a rivalry game,” Bates said. “We want to avoid a loss and take our next step.”