M. Lax Ends Season With Win Over Dartmouth, 6-4

All in all, the 2000 season for the men's lacrosse team was a bit of a disappointment. Starting strong with five wins, the Crimson hit a snag midway through the season dropping six out of its last seven games to fall out of Ivy League and NCAA contention.

But, in its final game of the season, the Crimson (7-6, 3-3 Ivy) saved face and gestured to good things to come with a 6-4 win over Ivy cellar-dweller Dartmouth (5-9, 0-6) last Saturday.

The sweltering heat of summer that has surfaced in recent days crept onto Jordan Field and was an oppressive force to be reckoned with.

"The heat was definitely a factor and the turf of Jordan only makes things hotter," said freshman attackman Matt Primm. "But we were prepared for it with lots of substitutions to keep guys fresh."

Primm, who has been a bright spot for the Crimson offensively this season, led all players with two goals Saturday.

Harvard, despite ultimately dominating Dartmouth in all statistical categories, got off to a sluggish start.

"We started off pretty slow and Dartmouth took advantage of that," said freshman attackman Jay Wich. "But we were eventually able to come back and make use of our time of possession to create good chances for us."

After the first quarter, which witnessed a goal by Big Green defenseman Wes Lippman, Harvard cranked up the intensity and took charge in the second quarter.

Senior attackman Lawson DeVries began the Crimson barrage with a goal off an assist from fellow senior attackman Geoff Watson 3:45 into the second frame.

Then, 10 minutes later, junior midfielder Roger Buttles gave the Crimson the lead by tickling twine with a blistering shot past Dartmouth goalie Patrick McClammer to make it 2-1.

After that point, Harvard never trailed again.

To close out the second quarter, Wich accepted a pass from Watson with 30 seconds left and blasted a rocket past McClammer to push the score to 3-1 in Harvard's favor.

The offensive momentum for Harvard stalled in the third quarter, however, as Dartmouth came out firing. The Big Green capitalized on crucial Crimson miscues and tied the game at 3-3 on goals from attackers Scott Roslyn and Ryan Beible.

Harvard, facing the possibility of another close loss, rallied to stretch the lead to 5-3 on goals from Primm and junior attackman Dana Sprong.

"One positive of this season has been our will to win regardless of our standing," Primm said. "After the close losses to Notre Dame and UMass, we could have easily thrown in the towel, but instead [we] maintained our focus with Dartmouth."

The focus and will to win was especially important in the fourth frame, as Dartmouth controlled the ball for most of the quarter and pulled within a goal when tri-captain Greg Edell scored off an assist from attackman Alex Grishman.

The Big Green, who had only put five shots on goal in the previous period, tested Crimson senior goalie Keith Cynar with 10 shots in the final stanza.

Cynar, playing in his final collegiate game, rose to the occasion and turned away all but one of the shots preserving the win for Harvard after an insurance goal by Primm made it 6-4.

"Keith has single-handedly won many games for us this year and, in my opinion, should definitely be an All-American," Primm said. "It will be tough losing him next year, but I hope we can build from our progress this season and do even better next year."

Cynar, who finished the game with 13 saves, ranks fifth nationally in save percentage (.631) and has been one of Harvard's most solid players in the past few years.

Harvard finishes the year at 7-6, four wins better than last year's 3-10 campaign. With the continued strength of freshmen Primm and Wich, as well a strong rising senior class, the Crimson should look forward to continued success and perhaps a shot at the Ivy title for the 2001 season.