Stickmen Slam B.C., 14-8, Survive Second-Half Rally

The varsity lacrosse team toyed with Boston College in the first half yesterday to take an 8-0 lead, and then hung on against a determined second-half rally to beat the Eagles, 14-8.

With more than four minutes lefts in the contest, B.C. had scored four straight goals to pull within striking distance 12-8, but Bobby Mellen connected just after the ensuing face-off to stretch the Crimson lead and stem the tide.

In the first 30 minutes, the Harvard stickmen looked as though they intended to make the best of the perfect springtime weather, passing crisply to set up he eight first-half tallies while goalie Jim Michelson was making 11 saves to hold the Eagles scoreless.

Only a minute into the contest, sophomore attackman Steve Martin had an opponent draped all over him but connected with a behind-the-back shot to get Harvard started. Before the intermission, Bill MacKenzie, Kevin McCall, and leading scorer Billy Tennis all added a pair of scores and Mike Faught notched his fourth of the year.

Martin, as always, was the playmaker, assisting on three of the goals. A fourth assist later in the game gave him 17 for the season.

But in the second half, it was B.C. that went on the April frolic, charging back from oblivion into the thick of the fight.

Middie Ward Bittner led the comeback, scoring once and passing off for two more tallies as the Eagles cut the lead to 9-3. Martin scored on a pass from Tennis to build the lead back to seven, but Bittner came right back.

Hard Shot

He fired a hard shot at Crimson netminder Jim Michelson, who made an excellent save to blunt the bid, but B.C.'s Walter Cox connected with the rebound.

Harvard made another bid to finish the Eagles off, scoring the last goal of the third period and the first of the final stanza to build a 12-4 bulge. A fight broke out as the teams battled for the face-off, and Chris "Beast" Doherty of Harvard and two B.C. players were ejected.

Final Burst

That's when the Eagles fired off their final burst. With Bittner or Cox figured in every score, they got four tallies in the next seven minutes, pulling close at 12-8 with 4:22 left. But Mellen's goal ended the threat, and attackman Gordie Nelson netted another Crimson goal with only two minutes left.

The victory improved the Crimson record to 5-2, against 4-9 for all of last season. Harvard faces its most formidable foe of the season next Wednesday when second-ranked Cornell rolls into Cambridge looking to inch closer to its sixth Ivy League title in seven years.