PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men's lacrosse team opens Ivy League play this weekend, and it's a daunting challenge as the Quakers host a Harvard team that comes to Franklin Field undefeated in non-conference play to date and boasting the No. 4 national ranking in this week's USILA national coaches' poll.
 
GAME 7 – #16 PENN (3-3, 0-0 Ivy League) vs. #4 HARVARD (5-0, 0-0)
Saturday, March 14, 2026 | Noon | Franklin Field
Watch on ESPN+ ($) | Live Stats | Program (PDF)
 
Ivy League on ESPN+
A reminder that the Ivy League is paired with ESPN+ and you will be able to find all Penn home games, as well as road Ivy games and select non-conference road games, on ESPN+ this spring with the same high broadcast quality you've come to expect. ESPN+ is a subscription-based service that offers monthly and yearly packages. Click here to subscribe to ESPN+!
 
The Series with Harvard
*94th meeting in a series that started in 1900; Penn barely leads the overall series, 46-45, with the teams tying in 1900 (1-1) and 1955 (11-11).
 
*Penn had won ten in a row over the Crimson before last season—most recently a 15-12 win here at Franklin Field in 2024—when Harvard finally began tipping the scales with a 13-6 victory in Cambridge.
 
*Harvard has not beaten Penn here in Philadelphia since 2006, a 13-8 decision.
 
Strong Schedule…Again!
Although it's a new head coach (Taylor Wray), Penn's tradition of strong scheduling continues. Coach Wray and his staff have set up a 13-game slate that features seven games against teams that were in the Inside Lacrosse Preseason Top 20 poll—including five of the top six teams—and four more against teams in the "also receiving votes" section. (The Red and Blue also was listed among IL's teams receiving votes.) On the 2026 Penn men's lacrosse ledger…
  #2 Princeton (4/11)
  #3 Syracuse (3/1)
  #4 Cornell (4/4)
  #5 Georgetown (2/14)
  #6 North Carolina (2/27)
  #13 Harvard (3/14)
  #19 UAlbany (2/17)
  RV Dartmouth (3/28)
  RV Delaware (2/21)
  RV Villanova (3/8)
  RV Yale (3/21)
 
Home Cooking
*Penn is already playing its fifth home game of the season on Saturday and has played just two games on the road so far.
 
*Amazingly, after Saturday the Quakers will be home just one more time this season—on Saturday, April 4 against defending NCAA champion Cornell. That will be Alumni Day for both Penn lacrosse programs, the women hosting Harvard in that day's opening game.
 
*Penn had more home games in February (4) than it does in March and April combined (2). We're taking some liberties here; the fourth home game was really March 1, but we counted it as February since it happened on a weekend that also included February dates.
 
Preseason All-America Recognitions
Senior middie Griffin Scane received honorable mention recognition by both USA Lacrosse Magazine and Inside Lacrosse when they announced their Preseason All-America teams.
 
Junior SSDM Anthony McMullan received Preseason All-America honorable mention recognition from Inside Lacrosse for the second straight year.
 
2026 Quaker Notemeal
*Junior Davis Provost leads the Quakers in goals (18), points (21), and shots on goal (34); he has hit for multiple goals in five of Penn's first six games and set a season/career high with five last Sunday at Villanova (four of them coming in the first two quarters).
 
*Scane is second on the team with 14 goals this season and hit for multiple goals in each of the first four games including four-goal efforts against UAlbany and North Carolina.
 
*Freshman Jackson Maher was shut out for the first time in his career last Sunday at Villanova, but he continues to lead Penn with eight assists and is third with 16 points. He had four straight multi-point games prior to last Sunday.
 
*Junior Grayson McClements had three points last Sunday at Villanova (2g/1a), nearly doubling his total from the first five games this season (2g/2a).
 
*Sophomore Matt McMillen scored his first collegiate goal two weeks ago vs. Syracuse, then followed that up with a goal and an assist last Sunday vs. the Wildcats.
 
*Sophomore defenseman Dante Vardaro is typically assigned the top offensive threat—he held Villanova's Colin Michener to just an assist last Sunday—but he added an offensive element to his repertoire against the Wildcats with a goal and an assist (the goal coming in spectacular fashion, the long pole converting on a behind-the-back effort.)
 
*Overall, Penn has had 12 different goal scorers this season (including eight with multiple goals) and nine players who have dished out an assist.
 
*Senior Mac Eldridge leads Penn's strong face-off group; collectively, they are winning draws at a .601 rate this season (83-138). Eldridge is 48-32 (.600) while fellow senior Ethan Costanzo is 20-13 (.606) and freshman Quinn Ball is 12-6 (.667) including 8-1 at UAlbany.
 
*Sophomore Jack Pelot made 16 saves while allowing just six goals against Delaware on February 21, and has been above .500 in save percentage in each of Penn's last four games He has played every minute between the pipes with a .565 save percentage for the season.
 
*Two players lead the defense with five caused turnovers: Vardaro on close defense and junior SSDM Anthony McMullan. (LSM Matthew Till is right behind them, with five.) Like Vardaro, McMullan has proven himself a threat to get offensive when the ball is in his stick; he has a goal and an assist already this season.
 
*Eldridge, Scane, Ryan McLaughlin and Jacob Pacheco are this year's captains.
 
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