It was thrilling. It was nerve-wracking. And at times it was infuriating. But the Brown Bears 8-6 victory of the Harvard Crimson could prove to be just what they need to clinch their second Ivy League title.
With two of their biggest games left to play against #4 Cornell and #1 Princeton, the Bears still have a ways to go before they can really relax. But with this win, they've ensured that the Crimson are no longer in the running for the title. And in the Ivy league, every little step counts.
The scene was set for a battle as the crowd's cheers echoed within the concrete, colosieum-style venue at Harvard Stadium. The night game that has been a tradition between the Ivy League pair lived up to its expectations as one of the most exciting games of the season.
Harvard opened things up with an early goal just 1:32 into play with an unassisted mark by Crimson's Dean Gibbons. The Bears didn't let the lead last long when Thomas Muldoon kicked off a three-goal streak for the Bears. Muldoon, who was held scoreless for the first time this season against Penn Saturday, got back on the board in a big way with two goals and three assists on the night. After a couple of missed shots, Muldoon found just enough space between the pipe and Harvard goalie Joe Pike for a lefty goal he fired in at 3:49 into the game. Andrew Feinberg and Brady Williams, Brown's usual threats on the attacking end, came out on fire as well tallying a goal apiece before the first quarter was over. Feinburg, who still commands the lead in Brown scoring, reached his 30th goal of the season with the point.
The Crimson closed the gap a little halfway through the second quarter with another goal from Gibbons who tallied his 19th goal of the season to put the score at 3-2.
Then came my play of the game. While fans didn't have a good angle to see the next Brown goal, on LaxUnited.com Highlights you will see one of Brown's prettiest plays of the year. Muldoon got the ball off a pass from Hollingsworth on the right side and ran it behind the net around the crease. As two Crimson defenders collapsed on Muldoon, trusty Feinberg rolled out in front of the net to catch a quick behind-the-back pass from Muldoon for a quick-stick goal on Pike. The Bears confidence was officially back.
Harvard rounded out the scoring in the half with an unassisted goal from Max Motschwiller to go into the half with a Brown lead 4-3. The second half began with another strong run by the Bears and the goal that would prove to be the game-winner by Reade Seligman just 4:06 into the third. Before that were two goals from Brown, including Feinberg's third of the game and a low, ground-skimming sniper from my player of the game, Charlie Kenney.
Kenney made huge things happen for the Bears throughout the game including contributions to the face-off wins where he won all nine of the Bears' 17 faec-off attempts. Kenney himself went 9-for-13 at the face-off X. Kenney scored on one of just two shots and also picked up six ground balls for the Bears.
Harvard again closed the scoring gap with three unanswered goals. The first came from Jason Duboe to end the Brown streak with just 1:15 left in the third. In the final quarter, Jeff Cohen came out strong for the Crimson and fired in his first of the game 1:10 into play. He struck again over two minutes later to clinch his 20th goal of the season in a man-up opportunity off of a pass from Jesse Fehr.
Both goalies had their best performances in the final period with Joe Pike recording five of his 10 saved and Brown goalie Jordan Burke recording four of his 12 total. Burke picked up two ground balls and played steady in goal throughout the entire game. In front of Burke, defender Peter Fallon picked up four ground balls and joined the rest of the defense in a stellar performance. Muldoon finished things off for the Bears to give a little more room in the victory with another unassisted goal with just over four minutes left to play.
The Bears advance to 10-2 overall and 3-1 in the Ivy League. They get an Ivy League break this weekend before facing off against Cornell next Saturday at home.
The Crimson fall to 5-5 overall and 1-3 in the Ivy League. They will host Holy Cross this Saturday before rounding out their Ivy League schedule against Yale and Dartmouth in the next two weeks.
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