The No. 13 men's lacrosse team finished out the week with two victories, an exciting and integral 8-6 win over Ivy League rival Harvard (6-5, 1-3), and a 10-6 non-league game against cross-town opponent Providence (6-7). Brown advanced to an 11-2 record this season, and 3-1 in the Ivy League.
Brown 8, Harvard 6
Following a tough loss against Penn last week, the Bears took an 8-6 victory Wednesday night at Harvard, keeping their aspirations of an Ivy League title alive. Andrew Feinberg '11, Brown's leading scorer with 35 goals and 14 assists on the season, had three goals to lead the Bears on attack. Thomas Muldoon '10, who has 27 goals and 10 assists on the season, added two goals and three assists.
On defense, Head Coach Lars Tiffany '90 pointed to Ryan Cassil '09 for his outstanding effort. Tiffany described a ground ball play by Cassil as a "prime example of the energy on the field."
In goal, All-American quad-captain Jordan Burke '09 had 12 saves. Burke now leads the Ivy League and ranks sixth nationally in save percentage (.626) and saves per game (12.4). In addition, he has been named a finalist for this year's Tewaarton Award for the best collegiate lacrosse player of the year.
Goals from Feinberg, Muldoon and quad-captain Brady Williams '09 gave the Bears a 4-3 lead at the end of the first half.
In the third, Feinberg scored his third goal of the evening, once again off of Muldoon's feed. Seconds later, Charlie Kenney '10 scored a goal off a fast break from the faceoff.
"Charlie Kenney was our MVP of the game after winning 9 of the 13 faceoffs he took, and on top of that, scoring a goal," Tiffany said. "He had a great deal to do with our team's success. We win over 50 percent of our faceoffs, and look at what happens."
"I was really excited to have the opportunity to play in my home town and in such a huge game," said Kenney. "We all realized how important it was for us to bounce back after the loss to Penn and came ready to play. Everyone took the game extremely seriously and played with such high intensity. We really came together and played as a team."
Reade Seligmann '09 netted an unassisted goal shortly afterwards, giving Brown a 7-3 advantage, but Harvard scored with just over a minute left on the clock, lessening Brown's lead to 7-4 going into the final quarter.
Harvard continued to close the gap in the second half, bringing the score to 7-6 with 11 minutes to go. But Muldoon's second goal of the evening, with four minutes remaining, would be the last goal of the game, securing the 8-6 victory for the Bears.
"To this point in the season, Harvard was the most satisfying and rewarding victory for our program," Tiffany said. "We played well in so many phases of the game, and put forth the best overall team effort all year. The intensity and energy levels were palpable and spurred on by a really supportive Brown crowd."
"Harvard was a must-win game for us and we came out and played with a lot of emotion," added Seligmann. "We were strong off the faceoff, and both our offense and defense played well together."
Brown 10, Providence 6
The Bears overpowered Providence 10-6 Saturday night, spearheaded by four goals from Muldoon. Williams and Feinberg added three goals each and Burke had nine saves in goal.
"Providence played a tough game," Seligmann said. "We had a sluggish start but were able to recover with a great defensive effort, as well as great performances from Thomas Muldoon and Brady Williams on attack."
Three goals from Muldoon, two from Feinberg and another two from Williams gave the bears a 7-2 lead at the half.
But Brown's scoring streak was cut short as Providence outscored Brown 4-1 in the third quarter, cutting the Bears lead to 8-6. Muldoon added his fourth goal of the evening off a feed from Seligmann.
The Bears held off the Friars in the fourth quarter as goals by Williams and Feinberg locked up the 10-6 win.
"Saturday night felt very different" compared to Harvard, Tiffany said. "It felt more like a great individual effort and less of an overall team effort, yet the results were the same. That we had as much emotion as we did was great, and some individuals really stepped up."
Tiffany praised Muldoon for his strong play on attack, as well as Seligmann, with two assists, who "was doing a great job feeding the ball and making some really smart decisions." Tiffany also had praise for Cassil, who again stepped up on defense, containing Providence's leading scorer, Colin Tigh.
The Bears will match-up against No. 2 Cornell (9-2, 5-0 Ivy), this Saturday, April 25 at 1 p.m. on Stevenson Field. Cornell is fresh off of a win over then No. 1 Princeton this past Saturday. With only two games remaining in Ivy League play, against two of the top teams in Cornell and No. 5 Princeton (10-2, 3-1) on May 2, the Bears aspire to both the Ivy League title and an NCAA tournament bid.
