CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – A 10-4 outburst in the second half made all the difference as the University of Pennsylvania men's lacrosse team grabbed a much-needed 15-9 Ivy victory Saturday afternoon over Harvard at Jordan Field.
 
The win improves the Quakers to 3-2 in Ivy play and back to .500 overall with a 5-5 record. Penn is 4-1 following losses in 2023 with just one more conference game left to play before the Ivy League Tournament.
 
Junior Cam Rubin, the Natick, Mass. native, put forth a terrific effort on offense with five points—scoring four goals and adding an assist—while junior goalkeeper Emmet Carroll made 16 saves between the pipes.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn improves to 4-1 in 2023 when following up a loss. The Quakers have won four games in a row in such instances.
 
*The Quakers take the lead in the all-time series, ahead 45-44-2 in the 91st all-time meeting against Harvard.
 
*Penn keeps its series-long nine-game winning streak alive over the Crimson dating back to 2014.
 
*Scoring 15 goals for just the second time this season, the Quakers are now 2-0 in those games, scoring that many against an Ivy opponent for the second time as well.
 
*Cam Rubin finished with a season-high tying four goals to pace the Penn offense. He now has 17 goals and six assists for 23 points this year.
 
*Four others record two goals each with a pair for Gabe Furey, James Shipley, Ben Smith and Sam Handley.
 
*Shipley, Smith, Handley and Tynan Walsh also two assists to lead the way.
 
*Senior captain Peter Blake was excellent on the defensive end, totaling a team-high three caused turnovers with a pair of ground balls.
 
*Chris Arceri was 8-for-16 from the X, while Ethan Costanzo went 6-for-11, totaling 14 face-off wins. The Quakers edged the Crimson, 14-13, in face-off opportunities and are now 4-0 in games when outpacing opponents in that category.
 
*Goalkeeper Emmet Carroll was on top of his game in between the pipes for Penn, making 16 saves at a 64 percent clip, his third-best mark of the season and best in Ivy play so far.
 
*Harvard out-shot Penn, 46-34, but the Quakers had the edge in shots on goal, 26-25. Penn was 2-for-2 on extra-man opportunities while the Crimson went 0-for-5, a strong effort for the Red and Blue penalty kill.
 
How It Happened
Penn's offense exploded with the first three goals of the game, anchored by Ben Smith's 18th goal of the season and followed by strikes from Matt Palazzi and a man-up goal for Cam Rubin.
 
Harvard answered back with four in a row between the end of the first and start of the second quarter to take a 4-3 lead.
 
Rubin notched his second man-up goal of the game with 7:05 to play in the second quarter, tying the game at 4-4. James Shipley used an assist from Ben Smith to take a 5-4 lead, with just over five minutes to play.
 
Nick Loring scored the Crimson's final goal of the first half and Sam King their first of the second half to re-take the lead at 6-5.
 
Almost the whole remainder of the third stanza belonged to Penn after six unanswered goals for the Quakers, including two for Gabe Furey as the Red and Blue took a commanding 11-6 lead with 1:14 to go in the quarter.
 
Loring netted his hat trick for Harvard with just 34 seconds remaining on the clock in the third quarter to cut the deficit back to 11-7, but it was Penn who came out of the gate swinging to start the fourth frame with back-to-back scores from Shipley and Rubin.
 
The Crimson managed a pair of scores in the fourth quarter, but Sam Handley used a great pass from Tynan Walsh to rip a shot home and Rubin netted his fourth of the game unassisted with just 18 seconds remaining in regulation to allow the Quakers to come away with a 15-8 victory.
 
Up Next
Two regular-season slates will be closed out next Saturday, Ivy and home, as Penn hosts Dartmouth at 1 p.m. from Franklin Field.