Tigers Trounce Crimson, 16-5

It happened to the Harvard football team. A solid first half, followed by less than inspired play in the second. And now it has happened to the Harvard men's lacrosse team for the second game in a row.

Last Wednesday, Harvard trailed sixth-ranked Brown at halftime, 5-2.

Then it lost 19-6.

This weekend in Princeton, N.J., history repeated itself. The Crimson once again showed it has the skill and firepower to play with the best--for a half.

At the intermission of this weekend's game, the Crimson trailed the Tigers, 7-4.

But then the onslaught began. The floodgates opened, and the Crimson could not hold back the irresistible Tiger tide. Defending national champion, second-ranked Princeton outscored Harvard nine to one and walked away with a 16-5 victory.

"We had too many mental breakdowns," Harvard Co-Captain Chad Prusmack said. "On offense, we tended to throw the ball away on key possessions. At the defensive end, men were left uncovered."

The key to the game was the fourth quarter. After playing a solid first half, Harvard was outscored 3-1 in the third, putting the score at 10-5.

Although the Crimson found itself on the wrong end of a five-goal lead, Harvard was still in the game.

Going into the fourth, the Crimson needed an early goal or two. Instead, Princeton dominated the last quarter, putting the game out of reach. The Tigers punched in six goals of their own and lived up to their national championship form.

"They have a great team," Prusmack said. "They are so well rounded, they just do not have any weaknesses."

Princeton displayed a balanced and potent offense. It was not the case of a one-man show. There were no Michael Jordans for Princeton Saturday (although Kevin Lowe did score two goals and five assits), as eleven different players scored for the Tigers.

And with sophomore sensation Scott Bacigalupo in goal for the Tigers, Harvard had as much chance scoring a goal as a burglar has of getting in Fort Knox.

Once again, Harvard faced a clearly superior team, and although players felt they matched up well against Princeton, the scoreboard tells another story.

Also slowing down the Crimson were key injuries to Prusmack and Co-Captain Eric Bentley, who had to leave the game early. In addition, freshman Mike Eckert and sophomore Spencer Rice were less than 100 percent.

But ultimately, the Crimson failed to execute for a full game, and a better Princeton team took advantage.

Freshman Mike Eckert summed up best what has plagued the Harvard squad.

"We're just not doing the things we need to do to win," Eckert said. "We have yet to put a full game together.

On a positive note, Eckert did add to his great freshman campaign with another goal.

Senior Ed Sim contributed two tallies of his own as did Sophomore James Ames. HARVARD, 16-5 at Princeton, N.J. Princeton  3  4  3  6  16 Harvard  3  3  1  0  5

G: Princeton--Kevin Lowe (2), Scott Reinhardt (2), Taylor Simmers (2), Bart Bansbach (2), John Stanitski(2), Jeff MacBean, John Burstein, Jason Buttles, Torr Marro, Scott Conklin, Todd Higgins; Harvard--Ed Sim (2), James Ames (2), Mike Eckert. A: Princeton--Lowe (5), Jay Quayle (2), Conklin, Brian Tomeo, Simmers, Marro, Mansbach; Harvard--Steve Gaffney, Dan Nicklas, Mason Wynocker. S: Princeton--Scott Bacigalupo 15, Daniel Gutstein 1, David Kashatus 0; Harvard--Matt Camp 18, Walter Sipe 0.

G: Princeton--Kevin Lowe (2), Scott Reinhardt (2), Taylor Simmers (2), Bart Bansbach (2), John Stanitski(2), Jeff MacBean, John Burstein, Jason Buttles, Torr Marro, Scott Conklin, Todd Higgins; Harvard--Ed Sim (2), James Ames (2), Mike Eckert. A: Princeton--Lowe (5), Jay Quayle (2), Conklin, Brian Tomeo, Simmers, Marro, Mansbach; Harvard--Steve Gaffney, Dan Nicklas, Mason Wynocker. S: Princeton--Scott Bacigalupo 15, Daniel Gutstein 1, David Kashatus 0; Harvard--Matt Camp 18, Walter Sipe 0.