M. Lacrosse Looks for First Win Against B.C.

After a decisive loss at the hands of Fairfield last weekend, the men's lacrosse team heads into tomorrow's match with Boston College looking for its first win of the season.

The Crimson (0-1) was ranked No. 20 in the Face-off Magazine Division I pre-season poll, and is favored to beat the Eagles (0-1), also winless.

The team is confident about this week but will not forget its 5-13 defeat in its first game.

"This year we've learned early not to take anyone for granted," said junior midfielder Geoff Watson.

"We saw what can happen when you come out and take a team lightly," said Crimson netminder Keith Cynar. "But we are not going to come out tentative, either. We're going to be fired up and ready."

Cynar attributed the loss to a number of problems.

"A lot of the loss was due to just not being outside," Cynar said. "It's tough practicing inside for a long time and then going to the field, but the weather has kept us indoors."

Watson also noticed the Crimson's trouble adapting to the new surroundings.

"It was cold and wet that day." Watson said. "I think one of our biggest problems was just coping with the weather."

Another big problem in the Crimson loss was its inability to get the ball out of its own defensive zone.

With the ball around the goal so much the Crimson defense was under constant pressure. Cynar saw 47 shots on the day.

"We worked on clearing a lot this week," Cynar said. " We worked hard and long so that should not be a problem against B.C."

Cynar, the Ivy League's top goalie last season with a save rate of 60 percent and 9.08 GAA, recorded 26 saves in the flurry.

The Crimson offense also had its difficulties, scoring four goals in the first half and only one in the second.

Sophomore Lawson DeVries noted the lack of offense and contributed it to the Crimson's poor execution of set plays.

"I don't think we ran one play in the six-on-six offense," DeVries said. "We need to run those plays and get some motion into our offense. That's what they are there for.

The lack of offense is one of the biggest holes left by last year's graduates.

The top three scorers from the '98 Crimson squad left last spring, among them Mike Ferrucci '98, Harvard's third all-time leading scorer and a two-time All-American.

Together with Jim Bevilacqua '98, and Doug Crofton'98, Ferrucci and his classmates accounted for 73 percent of the Crimson's scoring.

Behind this senior scoring power the team missed the 1998 NCAA playoffs by one spot, finishing 13th in the nation. The Crimson ranked 12th in overall scoring and 17th in goals scored.

Last week against Fairfield sophomores Dana Sprong and Roger Buttles both tallied two goals, and junior Geoff Watson netted one.

Absent from the list of scorers was DeVries, the most productive scorer behind the seniors last season with 20 goals and 11 assists.

"I put a lot of pressure on myself and I know a lot of people are looking to me as one of the only returning offensive producers," DeVries said. "I need to shoulder a lot more of the responsibility. B.C. is a good time to start before we hit the meat of our schedule."

In addition to the offensive vacuum this year's team is very young. There is only one senior in the lineup, captain Ethan Oberman.

Nonetheless, if the team settles down it ought to do quite well.

"We would love to get a big lead in this game," Cynar said. "It would be great to give a couple of these freshman and sophomores some good confidence at this level."

The Eagles lost their first outing as well, falling to Townson State 3-19. Townson State was ranked No. 18.

The Eagles went 7-9 last year as an independent, losing to the Crimson 19-3 in Cambridge.

The Crimson will face the Eagles at 1:00 at Alumni Field in Chestnut Hill.