THE GAME II: Laxmen Challenge Elis Today For First Place in Ivies

The Harvard-Yale men's lacrosse rivalry is a young one. In the past, only a little bit of pride was on the line when the Crimson and Bulldog stickmen battled it out. Neither school had emerged yet as a lacrosse powerhouse.

But when the two schools meet tomorrow at the Soccer-Lacrosse Stadium in New Haven, everything will be on the line. An Ivy League title. A first-round bye in the NCAA tournament. The Elis' undefeated record. The NCAA single-season goal-scoring record. Add a lot of pride, and this game is huge.

It's the type of game that makes Harvard-Yale rivalries. It's the type of win that can make an entire season, or an athletic career for that matter. Unlike Harvard-Yale matchups in most sports, it pits two of the top teams in the country against each other--the sixth-ranked Crimson (9-1 overall, 3-1 Ivy) and the secondranked Bulldogs (14-0, 6-0).

If Harvard beats Yale, the two schools would be co-champs of the toughest conference in Division I tax. The Crimson, rather than the Bulldogs, would probably be the idle team on May 16--the opening date of the NCAA tourney.

Yale's unprecedented 14-game winning streak--including seven victories over nationally ranked teams--would be brought to an end, as well as its bid for an undefeated season. And Harvard would have its best regular-season finish ever.

"It's really appropriate that it comes down to Harvard-Yale," Co-Captain midfielder Perry Dodge said. "That's the way it should be."

And since the higher-seeded Yale is expected by pollsters to cop its third straight Ivy title outright, the Crimson's position in the national rankings would not change that much with a loss today. The Harvard squad, already virtually guaranteed an NCAA tournament bid, has been cast into a position where it has everything to win and nothing to lose.

"Everyone's pretty confident," Co-Captain midfielder Mark Donovan said. "We definitely don't see ourselves as the underdog."

If the Crimson is to prevail, the key is shutting down the fastbreaking Eli offense led by senior midfielder Jon Reese.

Also the captain of Yale's football team (for which he also wears number 32), Reese leads the nation in goal-scoring with 66 tallies in 14 games. He is just four goals shy of tying the single-season goal-scoring record set two years ago by current Syracuse senior Gary Gait in the Orangemens' 15-game 1988 season.

Many of Reese's goals this season have come on fast breaks after he wins midfield face-offs. Harvard freshman midfielder Chad Prusmack, the Crimson's face-off specialist, has therefore been cast into a critical position.

"I hope that we can win it for the seniors," Prusmack said. "If I can contribute by winning on face-offs, it will definitely help us win. I like pressure sometimes."

The Elis also have two potent offensive threats in feeders Jason O'Neill and Karl Wimer. Chris Bentley's defense on Eli assist-leader O'Neill and Mike Murphy's coverage of Wimer should dictate how much Yale gets the ball to Reese.

Yale's offense relies on the fast break, and their offense becomes less threatening if the Crimson can prevent the Elis from running.

"They've scored a lot of goals on fast breaks so we're going to try to stay balanced on defense," Harvard Coach Scott Anderson said. "Their six-on-six is good but not overpowering."

On the defensive end, the Crimson's success will depend on the effectiveness of Yale's senior goalkeeper, Jim Guido. After winning the starting job from classmate and former All-Ivy Chris Swanenburg. Guido has led the nation in save percentage over the course of this season.

"You can throw out records, throw out statistics," Murphy said. "In a Harvard-Yale game, anything can happen."