Princeton Bombs Lacrosse Team On Power Plays

And then there were two.

After dropping an 11-7 decision at Princeton Saturday, the Harvard lacrosse team now has only two more chances this season to snap its three-season IVY League losing streak, which now has reached 13 in a row.

Coach Bruce Munro's weathered stickmen now look to the Dartmouth game this coming Saturday and the season finals with Yale the week after as the possible slump-breakers.

The big difference in the Princeton game was that the Tigers had an effective man-up offense (power play to hockey fans), while Harvard's man-down defense left something to be desired. Passing very well and spotting the open man, the hosts were able to cash in on five of the ten Crimson penalties, and started the debacle early, building up a seemingly in surmountable 6-1 halftime bulge.

It is interesting (or disheartening) to note that in all four of their Ivy losses this year, the Crimson have been unable to keep the opposition below ten goals. In the same period, Harvard's offense has tossed in 28 goals, and average of seven a game.

The midfields, reshuffled again by Munro, turned in another solid performance. Jim Kilkowski, Tom Nicosia, and Tom Engel, Saturday's second line, each threw in a score, and Marty Cain added one for the first midfield. Sophomore Charley Ames played with Cain and Alan Timber lake on the starting line against Princeton, after starting the season on the third line.

Two short shots by attackman Steve Neubert, both on feeds from fellow senior Keith Hutchinson, were Harvard's only tallies until 13 minutes into the third quarter, when Engel took a pass from Kilkowski and rammed it by Princeton's goalie Tom Reynolds. Meanwhile the hosts had accumulated 9 points in the same time span, which sort of put the game hopelessly out of reach.

Quick Score

Nonetheless, Nicosia came back quickly to score and in the first minute of the final quarter Hutchinson and Cain threw in goals, cutting the margin to 10-6. But like a ninth-inning rally by the New York Mets, Harvard's stickmen's scoring spree fell short. The Crimson could only manage one more tally (by Kilkowski) before the gun.

The freshman squad, in the meantime, massacred a helpless Holy Cross team Saturday at home, 18-7 with 10 first quarter goals. Attackman Eric Vogt led the barrage with 4 goals and 4 assists.