Laxmen, Down 3-1, Top B.C., 16-3; JV Goalie Yue Shuts Down Eagles

Five minutes into Tuesday night's men's lacrosse game between Harvard and Boston College at Chestnut Hill, the Crimson hit a low point.

Its starting goalie, Mike Bergmann, was ill and never made the trip. Then, trailing the Eagles, 3-1, back-up goaltender Bob Lapsley was felled by a blistering shot that nailed him in the face.

Fortunately for Harvard, Coach Bob Scalise had brought along JV goalie Jim Yue, who found himself in cage within minutes of the opening face-off--against a pumped-up B.C. squad geared for an upset.

But Yue and the rest of the Crimson didn't get mad, they got even. And once they got even, they got mad. Mad enough to outscore the Eagles, 15-0, the rest of the way and turn a close contest into a 16-3 rout.

"Everything was going against us at the point," Scalise said. "But when Lapsley went down, it really seemed to wake everybody up. Jim Yue came in and made some big saves, and our defense really rose to the occasion."

Scalise also noted the unselfish play of the Crimson offense, as 12 different players scored goals. "It was a real team effort with excellent ball movement," Scalise said. "Also, we didn't tail off at all after we took out our starting players.

The Eagles attempted to put heavy pressure on Harvard's outside men, similar to a tactic used by Cornell last Saturday which effectively shut down the Crimson attack.

But the same pressure which frustrated the laxmen last weekend barely effected them Tuesday, as the overextention of the B.C. defense merely left people open for shots near their goal.

With the victory, the Crimson enters a critical Spring Break period. The squad will play three games over vacation, with the first being the most important. Penn travels to Cambridge Saturday for an Ivy League game at Ohiri Field--one that the Crimson must win to contend for the league title.

The Favorite

The Quakers have emerged as Ivy favorite this year (along with Cornell), and they lived up to their billing in their first game by routing Yale 15-5.

Following the match with Penn, the laxmen head south to West Palm Beach, Fla., for a contest against the Ft. Lauderdale Lacrosse Club April 1. The squad will then face St. John's April 4.