Two heavyweight Ivy League lacrosse programs go head-to-head Saturday.
Harvard will play host to streaking No. 6 UPenn at Harvard Stadium. The tilt can be seen on NESNplus, with the game kicking off at 4 p.m. ET.
Harvard (5-5, 1-2 Ivy League) struggled out the gate, losing its first three contests. But the Crimson turned things around by winning five of their last seven games, including a triple-overtime 12-11 thriller over Boston University on March 19. UPenn (6-3, 4-0 Ivy League) also lost its first three games but enters Saturday’s contest on a tear after winning its last six games.
The highlight of the Quakers’ season thus far was a triple-overtime 13-12 victory over No. 2 Yale.
Crimson head coach Chris Wojcik had a lot to say about his team’s ability to turn the season around.
“I think you can see the guys stuck together and stuck to what we’re doing. It sounds really simple, but when you’re 0-3, it’s not always that easy,” Wojcik said. “It has been a continued commitment of sticking together as teammates, staff and overall program. (We) continued to believe in what we’re doing each day to get better and then, tangibly, you’ve seen the execution through.”
Wojcik credited his upperclassmen’s leadership as a reason for Harvard’s resurgence.
“We have a very selfless group led by our senior class,” Wojcik said. “The class is very small in numbers — there’s only six guys — and most of them actually don’t get playing time, but they’re just selfless, great teammates. I think that has permeated very well throughout the locker room, where you have guys whose simple focus is to do whatever is best for the team.”
With three games remaining in the regular season — all against Ivy League opponents — Harvard sits in fifth place in the conference standings, with UPenn atop the leaderboard.
Still, the Crimson aren’t counting themselves out yet.
“We control our own destiny,” Wojcik said. “It is a very tough league. (UPenn) is outstanding. They are a very well-balanced team all over the field. We’re going to have to play great to be successful, but we control our own destiny. It’s in our hands. It’s on us.”
To find out how to catch the game Saturday, find your local NESNplus channel here.
Here’s the full weekend schedule for NESN and NESNplus:
Saturday, April 13
Noon ET — Patriot League men’s lacrosse: Colgate at Holy Cross (NESNplus)
2 p.m. — Ivy League men’s lacrosse: Princeton at Dartmouth (NESNplus)
4 p.m. — Ivy League men’s lacrosse: Penn at Harvard (NESNplus)
