Bulldogs Bump Off Laxmen

For most of the season, it has been the Harvard men's lacrosse team pulling off come-from-behind triumphs.

But Saturday it was Yale's turn for fourth-quarter heroics.

The Crimson (5-2 overall) played a sluggish second half and failed to hold off a late-game scoring rush from the pumped-up Elis, who captured a 13-9 decision in New Haven, Conn.

The Bulldogs (4-5) put together a 6-0 spurt late in the contest to turn an 8-5 deficit into a four-goal victory.

Down 11-8 late in the game, the Crimson scored with just over two minutes to play to narrow the Elis' lead to two.

But that was as close as the team got to victory, as a couple of costly penalties enabled Yale to spread out its offense and put two insurance goals in the net.

"We were definitely the better team," Co-Captain Chris Pujols said, "but we didn't prove it on Saturday. Mentally, we were not ready to play, which lead to disaster."

Senior defender Tim McCaffrey was the high point scorer for the Crimson, tallying twice and recording four assists. Meanwhile, freshman David Clark poured in a game-high three goals in Harvard's losing cause.

Co-Captain Tom Corcoran also made a strong contribution to the Harvard offensive attack with two goals and one assist.

Brad Raymond and Robert Griffith each had one goal and Steve Lux earned an assist to round out the Crimson scoring.

Goalie Mark Vita finished the game with nine saves.

Coming off a six-day layoff, the laxmen couldn't find the spark that lifted them to a stunning victory over St. John's a week ago.

The Crimson will see plenty of action this week--at Brown Wednesday and at home against Princeton Saturday.

Harvard's game against the Bruins in Providence, R.I., may be its biggest of the year.

Last year's Ivy League champion and the only Ancient Eight school to be picked in this year's pre-season poll of the nation's top 10 clubs, Brown will test whether Harvard is a legitimate league contender or merely an upstart squad with a few lucky victories.

A year ago, Brown finished its Ivy League slate with an unblemished 6-0 record.

The Bruins, then 12-3 overall, also qualified for the NCAA tournament but dropped a 16-14 decision to North Carolina in the first round.

Harvard--last year's Ivy League cellar dweller with an 0-6 league mark--is looking to complete its recovery from last year.

But this year's five early season victories--which seemed to mark a complete turnaround from last year's effort--may go for nought if the laxmen don't turn around from Saturday's performance.