BOX SCORE 

CAMBRIDGE, MA - The University of Hartford lacrosse team dropped an 18-7 decision to 16th-ranked Harvard University on Friday evening at Cumnock Turf.

Harvard (3-1 overall) got out to a quick lead behind a 6-0 first quarter and never looked back. Jeff Cohen led the Crimson with five goals and an assist while Travis Burr added four goals. Freshman Carter Bender and sophomore Vinny Pellizzi each scored two goals to lead Hartford (0-4 overall).

Burr got the Crimson going with a man-up score just 3:30 into the contest. Harvard followed with five more tallies in the stanza and led 6-0 when Cohen netted his first goal of the night with 1:40 to play in the quarter.

Hartford finally got on the board midway through the second quarter on a shot by freshman Ryan Compitello off a feed from classmate Aidan Genik. The Hawks followed with their second goal nearly 40 seconds later, as Compitello fed Pellizzi to cut the deficit to 6-2. Harvard, however, closed the half with three of the next four goals and led 9-3 at the break.

The Hawks got as close as 10-5 in the second half, as junior Rob Steffens and Bender scored back-to-back goals in the first five minutes of the third quarter. The Crimson responded with eight straight goals to put the game out of reach, with Cohen scoring three times during the span.

All three Hartford goalies saw action in the contest. Senior Jon McMahon (five saves) got the starting nod but came out after the first quarter in favor of freshman Scott Bement, who played 32 minutes and made seven saves in his collegiate debut. Sophomore Lee Malandrino played the final 13 minutes and made five stops.

Harvard outshot Hartford 47-16 and caused 29 turnovers. Goalie Joe Pike made five saves and played all but the final 5:24 of the game. Nick Smith went 14-of-25 in the face-off circle and scooped up a game-high 15 ground balls.

Hartford will next play at Holy Cross on Tuesday, March 17 at 6:30 p.m.