Laxmen Stop Crusaders, 18-3

If the Harvard men's lacrosse team was going to break out of its slump, there was no better time than Saturday, when it hosted Holy Cross in front of 100 spectators at Ohiri Field.

In 12 previous meetings, the Crimson had never lost to the Crusaders--a streak dating back to 1958. And with several Holy Cross players hobbled by injuries, the stage was set for an end to Harvard's frustration of the past two weeks.

The Crimson embarrassed the Crusaders, 18-3, in a game about as close as the score indicates.

With the victory, Harvard upped its record to 8-4 overall (3-2 Ivy League) and assured itself of a winning season in Coach Bob Scalise's final year with the team.

The Crimson dominated play in all respects, producing its highest goal total of the season while shutting down the Holy Cross attack.

The game's first half also featured Harvard's finest scoring blitz of the year--the squad scored 11 unanswered goals in the first 26 minutes of play, capped by an unassisted tally by Mark Donovan with four minutes remaining in the half to give the Crimson an 11-0 lead.

The Crusaders only put in one goal in the first three periods, a credit to the strong Harvard defense and the goaltending of Mike Bergmann, who finished with 11 saves.

But the real stars of the contest were Brad Raymond and Chris Garvey, who contributed an offensive attack good for half of the Crimson's goals and accumulated a total of 12 points.

Raymond finished with five goals and one assist, including a rare first-quarter hat trick. Garvey, meanwhile, totaled four goals and two assists, with five of his six points coming in the first half.

No fewer than 15 Harvard players earned points in the game, with 6 notching more than one. In addition to Raymond and Garvey, Rob Griffith tallied two goals, while David Kramer, Donovan and Dave Ridini each had a goal and an assist.

Nick Nero and Co-Captain Martin Garcia also had multi-point games against theCrusaders, both finishing with two assists.

Scalise used his complete roster against HolyCross, as all 32 players who suited up saw someaction. Backup goalie Bob Lapsley entered the gamein the fourth quarter to relieve Bergmann--hisfirst action in more than five games--and earnedcredit for a save.

The Crimson seemed to fire at will all day,with 49 shots overall. In fact, Harvard had moreshots in the first half (28) than the Crusadershad in the whole game (23).

The Crimson also dominated other aspects of thecontest, claiming 20 more ground balls than itsopponent and winning 12 more faceoffs. In man-upsituations, Harvard scored at a 50 percent pace (2for 4), while Holy Cross had no luck in fouropportunities.

The laxmen make their final home appearance ofthe year today at 3 p.m. at Ohiri Field againstNew Hampshire The game, originally scheduled for lastWednesday, was postponed on account of the muddyfields created by snow the day before.

Today's game will mark the final home contestfor the team's eight seniors, includingCo-Captains Garcia and Ben Nye, Bergmann, Lapsleyand defenseman Rob Graff. In addition, Scalisewill lead his team onto Ohiri Field for the finaltime.

THE NOTEBOOK: The Crimson is ranked 15thin this week's NCAA poll. Three other Ivy Leagueteams are ranked ahead of Harvard: Cornell (2nd),Brown (9th) amd Penn (14th). Should the Crimsondefeat Dartmouth Saturday, however, it wouldfinish in a tie for second place in the Ivy Leaguewith the Bruins and the Quakers...Five ofHarvard's 18 goals Saturday came on unassistedefforts. Two of the three Holy Cross scores werealso unassisted. Seventeen of the 18 Crimsontallys were scored from within five meters, a signof crisp passing and strong penetration by theHarvard attack