Feb. 28, 2009

Box Score

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Harvard's defense held Stony Brook to just one goal over the first three quarters as the #14 Crimson ¬rode the strength of their defense to a 12-4 men's lacrosse win at LaValle Stadium. Sophomore Jordan McBride (New Westminster, B.C.) scored a pair of goals to keep his scoring streak alive to lead the Seawolves, who fell to a ranked opponent for the second time in as many games this season.

"You have to give Harvard credit, they played a great game today," said Stony Brook head coach Rick Sowell. "I thought that we showed some improvement over our first game against Virginia. We knew that these first two games would be tough, but if we can weather the storm of our tough early schedule we will be fine by the end of the season."

Dean Gibbons, who finished with four goals to lead Harvard (2-0), scored twice in the opening quarter, with his second coming on a man-up opportunity at the 1:25 mark to give the Crimson an early 3-0 advantage. After sophomore Adam Rand (Niantic, Conn.) won the ensuing face-off, junior Chris Scott (North Babylon, N.Y.) took a pass from sophomore Kevin Crowley (New Westminster, B.C.) and beat the Harvard goalie to cut the Crimson lead to 3-1 just 14 seconds after Gibbons' goal.

In the second quarter Harvard's defense held Stony Brook (0-2) to just four shots and no goals while its offense was able to get off 10 shots towards the SBU goal. Kevin Vaughan and Gibbons each found the back of the net to push the Harvard lead to 5-1 at halftime.

Harvard took control of the game in the third quarter. In the first five minutes the Crimson had another pair of man-up opportunities and cashed in on both, with Jason Duboe and Jeff Cohen scoring to extend the lead to 7-1. With the defense holding Stony Brook to no goals on just three shots in the quarter, Harvard used those two goals to start a five-goal quarter that gave the Crimson a 10-1 lead entering the fourth.

Five minutes into the fourth Stony Brook broke its scoring drought when McBride scored on the only man-up chance the Seawolves had the entire game to make it 10-2. The defenses took over once again, however, as neither team could score for nearly six minutes. The Seawolves made it two in a row when junior Mike Palmer (Westbury, N.Y.) scored with 4:23 left, but there was not enough time for Stony Brook to overcome its eight-goal deficit as Harvard went on to claim the win.

McBride was the only Stony Brook player to record two points in the game, extending his scoring streak to nine games. Rand won 12 of his 15 face-off attempts for the Seawolves, while junior Charlie Paar (Huntington, N.Y.) made five saves in goal. For Harvard, Gibbons finished with a team-high five points on four goals and an assist while Jesse Fehr led all players with four assists.

Stony Brook will be back in action next Tuesday, March 3, when it hosts Lehigh at 4:00 p.m. in LaValle Stadium.