Late Rally Helps Laxmen Domineer Pioneers

Some teams are first quarter teams. Other teams are fourth quarter teams.

Against C. W. Post College yesterday, the Harvard men's lacrosse team was both.

After taking an initial 5-1 lead in the opening 10 minutes, the Crimson fell behind and had to rely on a dramatic comeback to win its season opener. Harvard (1-0) scored five unanswered goals in the game's final five minutes to defeat the Pioneers, 13-10, at Hickox Field in Greenvale, N.Y.

"We hadn't scored in a while and we got a little bit down. We needed someone to break the ice and get a goal," Co-Captain Mark Donovan said of the comeback. "Once we got one goal, the team got on a roll and really got things going."

The icebreaker was senior forward David Kramer, who was no stranger to the Post net yesterday. With 4:35 left and the Crimson down, 10-8, Kramer tallied his team-leading fifth goal of the afternoon.

After Harvard forward Mickey Cavouti tied the game with an unassisted goal with 3:37 left in the contest, roommate Tim Reilly nabbed what proved to be the game-winner 30 seconds later.

Reilly received a pass from Donovan intended for another player, faked out Post goaltender Ivan Savory--who had replaced besieged netminder Paul Benzing after the high-scoring first period--and whipped a point-blank shot into the twines to give Harvard an 11-10 lead. Sophomore Paul Faust and Donovan added unassisted insurance goals to seal the Crimson victory.

"To be able to put together a spurt like that so early in the season is really encouraging," Donovan said.

The Crimson's spurt was not its only one of the afternoon. At the beginning of the contest, Kramer led a Harvard barrage of five goals past Benzing.

Kramer, the leading goal scorer on last year's 7-7 squad, opened the game's scoring off a feed from sophomore Don Rogers three minutes into the contest. Two more Kramer goals, a Cavouti tally, and a man-up score by Co-Captain Perry Dodge later, the Crimson seemed to be walking away with the contest.

"We started off the game really fired up," Dodge said. "That was a little different. Last season, we usually started up slow."

A quick start, as well as a comeback, was a task that Harvard could not effectively perform last season. After rising as high as seventh in the nation, a six-game midseason slide left the Crimson at .500, with a lowly 2-4 mark in the Ivy League.

But Harvard's typical early struggle was only deferred about 10 minutes. The Pioneers, who traditionally play Harvard early in the season and have always provided close competition, bounced right back, scoring three quick goals to bring Post within one, 5-4, at the end of the first period.

The two teams traded goals during the second and third quarters, battling it out with tough physical play. Kramer, Dodge and Rogers goals paced the Crimson to an 8-8 tie going into the final period.

But while the Crimson won 19 of the game's 26 faceoffs and had a strong midfield game led by Donovan's 10 ground balls, the Pioneers tallied two fourth-session goals to go ahead, 10-8. The stage was then set for the comeback.

"We haven't had a lot of outdoor practice time and I think we did well adjusting," Donovan said.

Crimson netminder Chris Miller played the entire game and preserved the Harvard victory with 17 saves. While the inexperienced Post attack did not have a lot of strong shooters, the Pioneer offense had some success on the fast break and found several men open in the crease.

While Post draws many good local players from its Long Island home, the Crimson faces a bigger test next Saturday as it faces archrival Cornell in its Ivy opener at Ohiri Field. Last season, the Big Red edged the Crimson in Ithaca, N.Y., despite a Cavuoti hat trick.

"Everyone really contributed today," Reilly said. "A ground ball here, a ground ball there, the team really clicked. It really sets the tone for next Saturday."