The Harvard University Athletic department unveiled the 2012 football schedule on Tuesday, which features six games at Harvard Stadium. The last time the Crimson hosted six contests was in 2003.
The Crimson ended their 2011 campaign with a 9-1 record, and also finished atop the Ancient Eight standings with a perfect 7-0 record.
CAMBRIDGE, MA – Consider this one of those “check the box” type of weekends for the Harvard University’s men’s basketball team, who’s currently on par to wrap up the Ancient Eight.
On Friday, they completed their first task, as they defeated a rather impressive Princeton University squad, 67-64.
“What a tremendous win by our kids, and our program,” said Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker. “Princeton has been an absolute sensational team and program in this conference forever, and we have the utmost respect of what they’ve accomplished, and how tough they’ve been against us.”
“There’s no doubt about it that we’ve always [been] looking up at [them] in some ways to try and figure out how to get out of a game against them,” added Amaker. “I just thought our defense, and our will to win [on Friday] was outstanding.”
Harvard mounted a small 7-0 lead during the first few minutes thanks to junior Kyle Casey, who led all scorers with 20 points, before Princeton’s sophomore T.J. Bray drew a foul and registered one point from the charity stripe. Bray’s stroke somehow electrified the Tigers offense, as seniors Douglas Davis and Patrick Saunders combined for four triples at 8:50, which helped Princeton pull ahead, 21-20.
Princeton then went on a 12-3 run, which was halted by freshman Steve Moundou-Missi, who’s layup at 3:38 rejuvenated Harvard’s offensive unit to end the half on a 7-0 run.
“We locked down and [defended],” said Casey of his team’s first half rally. “Against their offense, you’ve got to defend for 35-seconds, and you know, you breathe, they score, so we had to really lock down, stay discipline, and just defend, and make them take tough shots and finish the possession with a rebound.”
Davis, Bray and junior Brendan Connolly helped Princeton’s offense earn a 50-43 lead halfway through the second frame, which was eventually erased by Moundou-Missi, junior Brandyn Curry and senior Keith Wright, who helped Harvard regain the lead at 9:29.
Both teams then swapped a few baskets until Curry sank a critical trifecta at 6:54, which gave Harvard a 57-55 advantage. Curry then recorded a jump shot in the paint literally two minutes later before Bray connected from beyond the arc to make it 59-56 with 2:02 remaining.
“We have confidence in [Brandyn],” said Amaker. “He’s a confident player, and he’s been able to kind of lead us in these last couple games. [The] Yale ballgame, he was outstanding, and certainly [on Friday] in so many different ways.”
Bray then provided his team with an additional bucket in the paint before he fouled Casey, who marched to the free throw line and connected on both shots from the stripe.
Princeton then called a timeout, and penciled a play for junior Ian Hummer, who’s shot in the paint hit iron instead of nylon, which forced the forward to foul senior Oliver McNally, who wound up recording six consecutive free throws on three separate trips to the line to secure the victory, as well as a season split.
“I wasn’t always a great free throw shooter, [but] I worked really hard at it, and every time I get to the line, I tell myself, you’re a senior, you’re a captain [and] you have to make those,” said McNally. “I would have taken this type of game over a 30-point blowout because we’ve been in that situation so many times against Princeton in my four years.”
Harvard’s next task will occur on Saturday, when they welcome University of Pennsylvania to Cambridge for yet another critical matchup. The Quakers defeated Dartmouth College on Friday, 57-54, and have won four of their last five matchups, as well as remain in second place in the conference standings.
“It’s a quick turnaround, so it’s all about getting your rest, and coming back with a mental mindset to fight the next night,” said Casey, when asked about-facing Penn. “This league is won on Saturday nights, so [I’m expecting] a real, gutsy battle for both teams.”
It’s time for our weekly look at the men’s basketball programs at Harvard University, Boston University and Northeastern University.
When you play in a conference like the Ivy League, here’s how damaging one loss can be. Harvard had its nine-game winning streak snapped last Saturday against Princeton. The loss knocked the Crimson out of the Top 25, (they had just re-entered the AP poll the previous week). More importantly, Harvard is still in first place, but is now just one game ahead of Yale and 1.5 ahead of the Tigers. I still think they’re going to be in the March Madness tournament, but you don’t want to put your fate in the hands of the selection committee. The good news for the Crimson: they’ve won 25 in a row at home, and their next four games are all at Lavietes Pavilion.
Two days after losing the Beanpot, Boston University fans had to deal with another setback on the court. The Terriers’ basketball team lost at home to New Hampshire Wednesday night, snapping a three-game winning streak and dropping BU to 10-4 in the America East. Despite the loss, the Terriers remain in third place in the conference, two games ahead of Albany, and they’ve already swept the Great Danes this season. It’s looking more and more like BU will be the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament in Hartford. Vermont and Stony Brook are currently leading the pack.
Northeastern snapped a three-game losing streak Tuesday night with a win over Towson at Matthews Arena. NU is now 8-8 in the CAA – right in the middle of the standings. But there is some serious competition ahead if the Huskies are to make a miraculous run through the upcoming conference tournament. Drexel, George Mason, VCU, the list goes on. On Saturday, Northeastern welcomes Stony Brook in a one of those BracketBuster games that ESPN loves so much.
Harvard University’s women’s basketball team earned an important win on Friday, as the Crimson defeated University of Pennsylvania, 66-52.
Yet, besides earning a much needed victory, as well as the team’s 300th win in Ivy League play, junior Victoria Lippert became the 16th member of the 1,000 point club with the Crimson when she netted 12 points against the Quakers.
Harvard Athletics provided a video of the historic evening via their YouTube channel, which we’ve provided below.
Our trip to the 34th Annual Women’s Boston Beanpot on Tuesday, Jan. 31, begins with a quick look at the Harvard University Crimson.
Harvard Crimson Women’s Hockey:
Record: (14-6-1)
ECAC Record: (11-4-1)
Current Streak: The Crimson enter Tuesday’s contest against Boston University having won three of their last four contests.
Last Beanpot Championship: Harvard has won the tournament 13 times, although the last time they were crowned champions was in 2010 when they defeated Northeastern, 1-0.
Biggest Win: Harvard beat-up Yale University, 8-0 on Jan. 27, as well as outshot the Bulldogs, 46-9.
Toughest Loss: Their two toughest losses this season came against Cornell University. The Big Red defeated the Crimson early in the season in Ithaca, New York, as well as in Cambridge by a combined score of 7-3.
Player to Watch: Make sure you keep your eye on junior forward Jillian Dempsey, who leads the team with 26 points, (13 goals, 13 assists). Against ECAC opponents, Dempsey has deposited eight goals, and tallied eight assists.
Beanpot Prediction: In the past three years, Harvard has made three appearances in the title game. They won in 2010, but lost to Boston College in 2009 and 2011, so you can bet they’re going to seek some type of revenge against the Eagles. However, don’t expect the Crimson to overlook their first round matchup against Boston University, who is currently riding a three-game winning streak. If the Crimson can get by the Terriers, expect them to be a tough out in the title round against Boston College or Northeastern University.
The Crimson are on a roll, and earned a spot in the Top-25 on Monday! (Photo Credit: Harvard University Athletics)
By Brian Willwerth
The Harvard men’s basketball team is one of the feel-good stories of the early college hoops season. Not only is Harvard undefeated, but also they now find themselves where no other team in school history has been.
Harvard is ranked in Top-25, coming in at No. 25, (No. 24 in the coaches poll).
Looking at their performance so far, it’s not hard to see why. The Crimson won the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament in the Bahamas, defeating Utah, Florida State and Central Florida, (FSU was ranked at the time). They also earned an impressive win over Vermont at Patrick Gymnasium, which is also noteworthy.
Three players are averaging in double figures: Keith Wright (11.4 ppg), Kyle Casey (10.9 ppg) and Lauren Rivard (10.1 ppg.)
The Crimson are 8-0 for the first time since 1984. They have two road games this week: Thursday night against No. 9 UConn and Saturday afternoon at Boston University.
The last Ivy League school to be ranked nationally was Cornell two years ago. That year, the Big Red ended up going to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Josue Ortiz was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week on Monday! (Photo courtesy of Harvard Athletics)
By NoontimeSports.com
On Monday, the Harvard University Athletic Department and Ivy League announced that Crimson defensive tackle Josue Ortiz was named the Ivy League Player of the Week.
Ortiz turned in an impressive performance on Saturday against University of Penn with 10 tackles, (6 solo, 4 assist), one forced fumble and two sacks.
Here’s the press release courtesy of Harvard University Athletics:
PRINCETON, N.J. – Harvard senior defensive tackle Josue Ortiz (Avon Park, Fla.) has been named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week.
Junior linebacker Alexander Norman (Lewisville, Texas) was named to the Honor Roll.
Ortiz led a punishing Harvard defense in its 37-20 victory over Penn as the Crimson claimed its 14th Ivy League championship and sixth under head coach Tim Murphy. The senior All-American had two first quarter sacks and 3.5 tackles for a loss before sitting out much of the fourth quarter with his team ahead 37-7 at the time.
Ortiz also forced and recovered a fumble that led to Harvard’s first score of the day and finished with a game-high 10 tackles (6 solo).
Despite being double-teamed on nearly every snap, Ortiz leads the Ivy League with 9 sacks (all solo) and ranks second with 13.5 tackles for a loss.
With its win, Harvard clinched an outright Ivy League championship in Week 9 of the season for the first time in program history. The team has won three championship in the past five years and five in the last 11.
Harvard has scored at least 30 points in seven straight games, marking the first such occurrence since 1890.
Harvard returns to action this Saturday at Yale in the 128th playing of The Game. Harvard is searching for its fifth-straight win over Yale as well as its 10th win in the last 11 years.
CAMBRIDGE, MA — The Harvard University football team earned their 14th Ivy League championship on Saturday afternoon, and according to head coach Tim Murphy, he believes the reason the Crimson succeeded this season was due to all the support and hard work from his players and coaches, as well as the school’s administration and alumni.
“It takes a great team. It’s not just the players and coaches [because] we have a tremendous alumni group, we have a tremendous support from our administration on both sides of the river, and if it was only on one side of the river, it doesn’t work,” said Murphy.
The coach continued by saying, “We’ve been so fortunate to be able to identify some really amazing kids in our time here [and] I especially just want to say, [I’m very] proud of the seniors.”
Murphy also talked about the commitment of fifth-year seniors quarterback Collier Winters and defensive tackle Josue Ortiz, as well as senior captain and linebacker Alex Gedeon, who have helped this program grow and improve over the past few years.
“We have two fifth-year seniors [on our squad] that didn’t have to be here, [and] missed a year because of injuries, and Alex Gedeon – we’ve had a lot of great captains here, I don’t know if we ever had a better captain than Alex Gedeon. He is the consummate student athlete, he is an incredible leader, humble, selfless, and a great player, [as well as] one of the best linebackers in the country,” said Murphy.
For the fifth week in a row, the New England Football Writers’ Gridiron Club of Boston handed out their annual Golden Helmet Awards to University of Maine’s running back Pushaun Brown and Endicott College’s quarterback Phil Konopka.
Brown was one of the Black Bears’ main offensive contributors Saturday, in the teams’ 31-17 victory over No. 5 Delaware. Brown recorded 193 rushing yards and found the endzone three times in the process. The North Brunswick, N.J., native opened the scoring for Maine 6:13 minutes into the first quarter, scoring from 26 yards out. Delaware would head to the fourth quarter with a slim 17-14 advantage over Maine, but Brown sparked a run of 17 unanswered points, with touchdown runs of 18 and five yards to seal the victory. This honor marks the second time this season that Brown has received Gold Helmet accolades.
Konopka ended his Saturday against Curry breaking his own school record for passing yards, compiling 385 yards through the air with five scores. The Shelton, Conn., native shattered his previous best of 295 yards with his performance, and also surpassed his previous personal record of four touchdowns. Konopka and the Endicott starting offense wasted no time, scoring three touchdowns in just under nine minutes in the first quarter. The senior quarterback would find the endzone both in the second and third quarters as well, as the Gulls would roll to their fifth victory of the season and second in conference play.
