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Alphabetical 2013 NCAA D1 Preview: Harvard

We’re breaking down all the NCAA D1 teams one by one. Welcome to the Alphabetical 2013 NCAA D1 Previews! We move another spot down the list and the Harvard Crimson, located in Cambridge, MA, are up for Preview! Couple more ‘H’ teams to get through…

Harvard went 6-8 in 2012 under Chris Wojcik. The season started well with wins over Vermont and Holy Cross, but three straight losses, all in close games, brought the Crimson down to Earth. An OT win over Brown and a five goal win over Dartmouth gave hope, but Harvard would finish out the year going 2-5, and three straight losses to Penn, Princeton, and Yale ended the Crimson’s 2012 season.

In 2013, Harvard will obviously face their Ivy League foes once again, but before they face any Ivy teams, they will match up with UMass, Holy Cross, Hofstra, and Georgetown. They also play Duke, Quinnipiac, Bryant, and Albany during the season. It’s a tough schedule, and only one or two of the games on their slate can be considered gimmes.

Jeff Cohen had 48 goals and 56 points last year, scoring more goals than the next two Harvard players combined, Daniel Eipp and Kevin Vaughan. Thankfully Eipp is back. Unfortunately Vaughan is not. Will Walker, Carl Zimmerman, Keegan Michel, Jack Walker and Ryan Stevens all return as well, and each put up at least 7 points in 2012.

In goal, Harvard returns both players who saw the most time last year. Jake Gambitsky and Harry Krieger both played over 300 minutes, and each started in at least six games. Jack Breit returns to bolster the defensive core as a sophomore, and he’s a player to watch, and a player who can score. Stephen Jahelka also returns as a sophomore after helping Team USA to a U19 gold medal. Jason Gonos will be a key cog for the defense again, and Joe Petrucci could see even more time, especially with Paul Pate graduated, and Dan DiMaria now playing a Graduate year at Duke.

Harvard lost a little offensive punch, but could be ok in that regard as the season progresses as they have some depth and potential. The defense returns largely intact, and both goalies are back, so that could be a strong point for the Crimson. If Keegan Michel can improve on face offs (140 for 235 ain’t bad!) as a sophomore, Harvard could be very dangerous.

Yale and Princeton seem like the cream of the Ivy right now, but Harvard definitely has the potential to make a run in the League. It will be a tight year of Ivy lacrosse in 2012, and Harvard just might have what it takes to make a major impact, and head to the NCAAs.

Click HERE to see Alphabetical 2013 NCAA D1 Preview posts for Air Force, Albany, Army, Bellarmine, Binghamton, Brown, Bryant, Bucknell, Canisius, Colgate, Cornell, Dartmouth, Denver, Detroit, Drexel, Duke, Fairfield, Georgetown, and Hartford!