NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Sixteenth-ranked Harvard did what no other Crimson team had done in 24 years on Saturday, as it clinched the program's first Ivy League championship since 1990 with an 11-10 win at No. 13 Yale.
Harvard will share the title with Cornell after the Big Red defeated Princeton 12-10 to match the Crimson's 5-1 conference record. By virtue of its victory against Cornell, however, the Crimson have earned the right to host next weekend's Ivy League tournament which will begin Friday at Harvard Stadium. The Big Red and Penn will meet in the first semifinal at 5 p.m. ET, with a rematch between Harvard and Yale set for 8 p.m.
Harvard appeared to have the advantage in the second half as it took a 9-6 lead, but Yale fought back to tie the game at 9 entering the fourth quarter. Daniel Eipp and Sean McDonagh teamed up for back-to-back scores to regain an 11-9 margin, and the defense stood tall down the stretch to prevent a comeback.
Devin Dwyer stole the show at the offensive end, dishing out a career-high six assists while Deke Burns contributed two goals and one assist. Eipp and Murphy Vandervelde also contributed two goals to the winning effort.
At the other end, Jake Gambitsky came away with 14 goals and seven ground balls, including five stops in the fourth quarter to lock up the title. Gabriel Mendola (8-15) and Austin Williams (5-10) combined to go 13 of 25 at the face-off X, with Mendola scooping up five ground balls.
