Harrison got another standing ovation heading into the locker room at halftime, during which a tribute played on the video board. “My success and longevity in the sport has had everything to do with the people I’ve been around,” Harrison says at the start of the video.
In the first quarter, the capacity crowd buzzed every time Harrison touched the ball. When he released a shot on the run, they seemed ready to explode. Blaze Riorden denied the attempt and a storybook moment.
The Redwoods led 9-7 entering the fourth quarter, but were held scoreless the final 17 minutes. Chaos rookie Mac O’Keefe scored a 2-pointer and broke a 9-9 tie with 2:41 remaining for the game winner.
“The outcome is tough,” Redwoods coach Nat St. Laurent said when asked about Harrison. “To see him and his family, it was a special day. A special moment. Maybe bigger than he wanted it to be, because that’s who he is.”
Harrison lingered on the field longer than any of his teammates after the loss. He returned to the turf with his children, Brooke, 8, and Smith, 4, in tow while the Archers warmed up on the other side. Harrison ran in a circle, holding his daughter’s hand and carrying his son in the other.
“I'm not a person who in the moment understands the gravity of things, but I think sitting here with her right now — just saw my parents, saw equipment guys that have been here for 20-plus years [from] when I was a freshman at this school — this is special,” Harrison said in the post-game press conference, his daughter sitting on his lap. “This lacrosse community has supported me for 34ish years now. I've been playing from Lutherville to Friends to Hopkins and professionally. Obviously I would have loved to win. That’s priority number one, but this is special.”
Harrison emerged on the sideline a couple minutes later and talked with Tampa Bay Buccaneers nose tackle Steve McLendon, who attended the game with his family.
“Can I take a picture?” asked a young fan on the other side of the fence, almost out of breath from sprinting along the concourse.
“Of course,” Harrison said.
But as he made his way closer to midfield, thanking the throngs of well-wishers from longtime Johns Hopkins and U.S. national team trainer Jay Dyer to Gus Heningburg, Jules’ father, there was one request he wasn’t willing to indulge just yet.
“I’m gonna keep my gloves for now,” Harrison told another fan, with a smile, before he walked off Homewood Field as a player for the last time.