Men's Lacrosse Loses Opener to Army

This one had all the makings of routine Army maneuvers.

The weather had conspired against the Harvard men's lacrosse team, keeping them stuffed up in the confines of the indoor practice facilities. Cabin fever was setting in among the Harvard players while our nation's armed forces, ranked thirteenth in the country and fresh off a 18-5 drumming of Cornell, was in town.

Yet Harvard overcame the unforgiving lacrosse gods and played it close. Army (3-0) beat the men from Cambridge in the Crimson's season-opener yesterday, 10-9, in a game played at Boston College because of the condition of Harvard's fields.

Considering the less-than-ideal practice conditions the Harvard squad has dealt with, the loss was not such a bitter pill to swallow.

"We were upset with the loss, but all things considered, I think the game was a positive one," sophomore Steve Gaffney said.

Due to the "storm of the century" and the 78 other storms to hit the Hub in recent weeks, the Crimson (0-1) has had to iron out its early-season kinks indoors. Practice time outdoors has been limited.

To then play 13th-ranked Army in the first game of the season is tough. Teams hate to use excuses, but this one is legitimate.

Army came storming into town with three games, and three victories stashed under its belt. Harvard had the frustration of three cancellations buzzing around its head.

"We lost the game on transition," sophomore Dan Nicklas said. "But that should come with more experience. We just have to get outside and play more."

The experience thing aside, Harvard looked solid in its season opener. It outshot Army 37 to 30, played it close on ground balls (22 to 19) and had a better clearing percentage than their opponent.

Leading the way for Harvard was strong play from the sophomore class. Sophomores Gaffney, Nicklas, Jamie Ames and Pat Marvin combined to score six of Harvard's nine goals. They added six assists to those tallies.

Camped Out in Goal

Even the questions concerning the goal were temporarily answered with the strong play of Matt Camp, who turned back 22 shots.

"Matt Camp played great today," Gaffney said. "It was his first start and for him to play like he did was huge."

Ultimately, the game came down to experience. Harvard was a little weaker in its transition game, and the finishes showed some small signs of rust.

No problems that can't be worked on in practice. No problems that won't improve as the season progresses and the team plays more games.

Of course, that's assuming the weather cooperates, the snows clear, and the players get to see the beautiful green grass of Ohiri Field.