M. Lacrosse Gears Up For Clash With Powerful UMass

There's no one but giants in the Harvard men's lacrosse schedule this year.

The Crimson (4-2, 1-1 Ivy) is right in the middle of playing four straight games against teams ranked in the nation's top 20.

Unfortunately, so far Harvard hasn't proven to be a giant killer.

Two weekends ago, the Crimson lost to Notre Dame in overtime, 7-6, in an especially low-scoring game.

Harvard came up short once again in last weekend's clash with Princeton, the second-ranked team in the nation, falling by a score of 17-10.

That margin shouldn't draw the conclusion that it was a poor performance by Harvard, however--it marked the first time since 1990 that a team scored in double digits versus the powerful Tigers.

Earlier in the season, Harvard started off with four straight wins, including one against 13th-ranked Duke.

Those wins established this year's team as a strong contender for the national title. However, these past two losses show some weakness in a strong squad.

"When we beat Duke we played as a team, and we have been lacking that in the past few games," sophomore Mike Ferrucci said.

Harvard gets a chance to right that wrong tomorrow, as it faces its third straight top-20 team with a day game at UMass-Amherst.

The Crimson has spent the past week honing its weaker spots, such as handling ground balls and controlling the game between the restraining lines.

In the Princeton game, it was the defense that faltered, giving up 17 goals. The Crimson will need to watch its game against UMass and avoid giving up as many tallies.

Offensively, the team has done well all season.

Senior attack Mike Eckert (15g, 18a) is tied for fourth in the league in scoring, and Ferrucci was named to the Ivy League Honor Roll for the past week, in part for his three goals and two assists against Princeton.

"Massachusetts is definitely beatable. If we come out strong in the first quarter we can bury this team." Ferrucci said.

Tomorrow's game represents the midpoint of the season, with the NCAA tournament looming ahead. In lacrosse, the top 12 teams make the post-season tournament. Currently, Harvard is tied for 11th.

"This is our most important game so far this season. Both teams are on the fringe of making the tournament. With three straight losses, our tournament hopes will be hurt," senior midfielder Chris Wojcik said.

The Crimson is hoping that with a big win here, and a win against Brown in a week and a half, it will finish the season in the top 10 with a good seed in the tournament.

Rarely is a non-league game so important for a team's standings as tomorrow's is.

Hopefully, Harvard will prove that it's the bigger giant and squash UMass.

After today's contest, the Crimson will travel to Yale on Saturday for an important league matchup with the third-place Elis (5-4, 2-1 Ivy).