MLAX falls 20-16 at No. 13/12 Harvard

Box Score (PDF)

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts – Carsen Brandt, Nolan Rappis and Bobby O'Grady had five points apiece but the Marquette University men's lacrosse team fell 20-16 to No. 13/12 Harvard on Saturday afternoon at Jordan Field.

The Golden Eagles (2-3) trailed by three, 14-11, entering the fourth quarter, but could not hold off the Crimson in the final frame as senior attackman Sam King notched four of his game-high seven goals. Marquette played Harvard even in the final 45 minutes after spotting the Crimson a 5-1 lead at the end of the first.

Brandt posted a natural hat trick early in the second quarter to pull MU within 8-5, but MU could get no closer. Harvard (3-1) eventually pushed its lead to as many as seven scores midway through the third before a 4-0 run by the Golden Eagles, keyed by two goals and an assist from O'Grady, pulled MU back within three at the end of the quarter.

O'Grady and Rappis each had a team-best four goals, while Brandt had his third hat trick in the last three games. Marquette won 26-of-40 faceoffs, held a 46-42 edge in shots, a 43-42 advantage in ground balls, but had to overcome 21 turnovers including eight in the clear (13-of-21).

Reigning BIG EAST Conference Freshman of the Week Noah Snyder notched a pair of goals and an assist to continue his recent hot play. The native of Irving, New York has eight points over MU's last two contests.

NOTABLE:

Saturday was the first meeting between the two programs.
O'Grady now has 149 career points and is three points from tying Ryan McNamara's program record of 152 points.
It is O'Grady's 16th career game with at least four goals.
MU graduate LSM David Lamarca posted four ground balls, one caused turnover and an assist. The assist is his third in the last two games and he entered the campaign with just one in his career.
Lamarca now has 106 career ground balls and 40 caused turnovers. He's just the fifth MU player in program history to reach 100 ground balls and 40 caused turnovers. The others are current or former professional lacrosse players Mason Woodward, Liam Byrnes, B.J. Grill and Noah Richard.
Rappis now has a team-best 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) and posted his third game this season with at least five points. His four goals on Saturday are one short of his career best of five recorded on Feb. 8 against Detroit Mercy. It is his third career hat trick.
MU was 2-for-2 with the man advantage on Saturday with a pair of goals from O'Grady. The Golden Eagles entered the weekend eighth nationally in man-up opportunities with a .583 success rate (7-of-12).
Redshirt freshman faceoff specialist Ty Ambush scored his first career goal with 21 seconds remaining. He won 10-of-14 draws and picked up eight ground balls.
The only other game MU has ever played in New England was an 11-5 win at Quinnipiac on March 19, 2016.
MU's only previous matchup with an Ivy League institution was a 21-11 loss at then-No. 7/6 Cornell on April 11, 2023.

UP NEXT: The Golden Eagles have a quick turnaround with a noon Central time game on Tuesday against Bellarmine at Valley Fields. The contest airs live on FloCollege from inside the seasonal dome in Milwaukee.

Keep up with the Marquette men's lacrosse program through social media by following on X (@MarquetteMLax) and Instagram (@MarquetteMLax) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteMLax).