Laxmen Hoping to Turn Corner With Victory Over Dartmouth

If you shoot, the goals will come.

Salvaging a good season has to be on the minds of the Crimson as it heads into today's matchup with perennial league doormat Dartmouth (5-0, 0-0 Ivy).

Harvard (2-4, 0-2 Ivy) has been held to five goals or fewer in four of its six outings.

The first half of the season has been filled with disappointing low-scoring losses, but all is not lost.

The Crimson bounced back from two spring break defeats with a big 9-8 home win at Vermont. Now is the chance to build on that positive momentum.

Carpe Dartmouth.

Faustian Bargain

The key to today's game is the play of senior Captain Paul Faust. The Crimson rises and falls with his performances. His consistent scoring and the opportunities he creates for others are the focal points of the Crimson attack.

Across the board, the offense needs to turn their intensity up a notch, and take more shots. The defense, anchored by the play of goalie Chris Miller and defenseman Eric Bentley, has been consistently holding opponents to around ten goals per game.

Dartmouth has padded its record thus far with a leisurely trip out West to play less competitive Colorado squads, then returned to defeat Division III Middlebury.

Harvard was supposed to be its first challenge of the year, but Colorado College took the Big Green to overtime.

The Dartmouth team coming to Cambridge is a one-man gang: attack Brendan Bowler. If the defense can stifle Bowler, the Big Green offense should be thwarted. If he's allowed to score four goals or so, Dartmouth may sneak out of Ohiri Field with a victory.

Dartmouth's defense has struggled this season, presenting an opportunity for the Crimson to work out any kinks in their offensive execution for the second half of the season.

Important to watch is the emergence of sophomores and freshmen on the attack. It's midseason, and they should have their bearings in the collegiate game by now. As their confidence and experience grows, the underclassmen should be taking the ball to the net more often. Harvard needs their contribution to be effective.