Big Red bedevil lacrosse

It was a big day for the Harvard men’s lacrosse team this past Saturday (April 5). The Crimson club, after all, was in the enviable position of playing the first-ever lacrosse game at Foxborough’s Gillette Stadium (along with league rival Cornell). There, in the enormous 68,000-seat venue, Harvard and Cornell attracted 2,705 lacrosse fans — roughly four times the number of the Crimson’s standard Jordan Field crowd.

On the field, though, the eighth-ranked Big Red spoiled Harvard’s big day in a big way, building a six-goal lead at the half to ultimately overwhelm the Crimson, 11-7. The loss marked Harvard’s fourth in as many games, dropping the men to 4-5 overall (0-2 Ivy).

Max Motschwiller ’09 of Harvard tallied the go-ahead goal at 12:25 of the first quarter, before Cornell rattled off seven unanswered goals in the first and second quarters to build an 8-2 advantage. A balanced effort in the second half helped Harvard put together a scoring frenzy of its own. All told, four Crimson players, including freshman Dean Gibbons (who also picked up a game-high three assists), notched a goal in the closing minutes to help Harvard close the gap to four goals before the final whistle.

Next up, the Crimson take on Princeton (5-4; 2-0 Ivy) at Harvard Stadium April 12. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.