Aquamen Strike Beans; Eagles Fall in Opener

Let's just say it would be hard for this game to live up to its billing. In opening round Beanpot action last night, the Crimson downed Boston College, 8-5.

No, calm down, you didn't fall into a three-month-long sleep. You didn't miss all of your midterms, not to mention your first semester finals and all of shopping period.

The Beanpot water polo tournament resembled its more famous predecessor, the Beanpot hockey tournament, in name only.

It is almost comical to imagine a Harvard team captain saying this of the hockey Beanpot--"We weren't really intense about the whole thing," but that was exactly what water polo Co-Captain John Marshall was saying last night after scoring two goals and keying a menacing Harvard defense that shut down the Eagles for the second time in a week.

The Crimson put the game away in the third quarter, holding B.C. scoreless, while countering with three goals of its own. Tom Killian, Kyle Enright and Bruce Burkley each netted a goal in that period. Two B.C. scores in the fourth quarter only narrowed Harvard's margin of victory.

The game was tied after one period, 2-2, as the Crimson continued a pattern of slow starts against less talented opponents.

"We do tend to come out with that kind of complacency," Marshall said.

The game ended on a complacent note for Harvard as well, as the Crimson failed to score in the fourth period. An early morning practice, coupled with a weekend tournament at Brown that saw the Crimson play five games in three nights may have contributed to the team's lethargy.

"B.C. is the kind of team we know we should beat," Marshall said. "They're sort of on par with MIT."

Speaking of MIT, the Engineers will host the Eagles tonight, and travel here Thursday to complete the round-robin tournament.

This weekend Harvard travels to Princeton for the Ivy League Championships. The Crimson will look to have another crack at Brown, its long-time nemesis.

Last weekend the Crimson got a shot at the Bruins, a chance it had been denied the week before, only to come away empty-handed.

In that tournament the Crimson beat MIT, Massachusetts, Yale, and B.C. en route to a 13-9 loss to Brown. "It was a disappointment," Marshall said. "We were with them the whole game and were down by two with three minutes left."

At that point though, according to Marshall, the Crimson failed to convert a man-up opportunity and Brown came back with a score of its own, effectively killing Harvard's chances.

Brown did show signs of vulnerability, losing to UMass on Saturday afternoon in what Marshall called "a major upset."

"Brown hasn't lost to a New England team in years," said Marshall.

Harvard would be only too happy to change that "years" to a week.