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You spent the better part of four months meticulously dissecting the 2013 college lacrosse season. You shouldn't stop now because cold turkey is a bad way to go through life, man. College Crosse is providing decompression snapshots of all 63 teams and their 2013 campaigns, mostly because everything needs a proper burial.
I. VITAL SIGNS
Team: Harvard Crimson
2013 Record: 6-8 (2-4, Ivy)
2013 Strength of Schedule (Efficiency Margin): 1.95 (15)
2012 Strength of Schedule (Efficiency Margin): -0.65 (41)
Winning Percentage Change from 2012: +/-0.00%
2013 Efficiency Margin: 0.52 (29)
Efficiency Margin Change from 2012: +/-0.00
II. "ATTA BOY!" FACT
- While Harvard stayed fairly static to its overall performance in 2012 (that statement is coming from 10,000 feet), the Crimson felt like they turned the corner a bit after running at Duke in a Saturday night, televised game in Cambridge (an 11-12 loss, but one in which Harvard seemingly had in control until about midway through the final period when the Devils went on a 4-0 run late in regulation to seal the Crimson's fate). Save the shellacking that Princeton put on Harvard in mid-April, the team's statistical output over its final five games -- which included contests against the aforementioned Tigers, Cornell (a game that required the Red to rally late), Quinnipiac, Pennsylvania, and Yale -- supports that sentiment:
HARVARD'S LAST FIVE GAMES AGAINST ITS FULL SLATE METRIC SEASON VALUE LAST FIVE GAMES VALUE Adjusted Offensive Efficiency 29.99 (29) 35.16 Adjusted Defensive Efficiency 29.47 (22) 29.32 Adjusted Efficiency Margin 0.52 (29) 5.84
III. "YOU'RE GROUNDED UNTIL YOU QUALIFY FOR THE AARP!" FACT
- Look at this:
TOO MUCH ICKY METRIC VALUE RANK Clearing Percentage 79.45% 60 Turnovers per 100 Offensive Opportunities 52.75 56 Unforced Turnovers per 100 Offensive Opportunities 25.71 51 Forced/Caused Turnovers per 100 Offensive Opportunities 27.03 54 Turnover Margin -9.49 58
IV. MR. FIX-IT HAS A ONE-FIX ENGAGEMENT, AND IT'S . . .
- Harvard really needs to take that next step that many have been anticipating from the Crimson. The Ivy League looks like it’s going to be a war again in 2014, but Harvard is going to need to overcome that to establish itself as a top-four team in the conference. It's not that Harvard is all that far away; the Crimson just needs to start focusing on the little things that erode success potential. Harvard was in a similar position to where it was in 2012, but played differently in 2013. The focus, then, is likely on developing consistency and maturity, something that should be achievable for Harvard going into the coming spring.