Crimson Laxmen Confident of Upset Against League-Leading Princeton

The underdog Crimson lacrosse team is confident of its ability to upset Princeton in tomorrow's crucial Ivy League game in New Jersey.

The Bengals are sitting on top of the league with a 3-0 record after over-powering Brown, Penn, and Dartmouth. Penn and Brown handed Harvard its two league defeats. Princeton has also beaten Navy while playing well in respectable losses to John Hopkins and Maryland.

"We can beat Princeton." Phil Zuckerman said yesterday. Teammate Bob McDowell felt that it the Crimson can play as it did in its 12-4 victory over Cornell, anyone could win tomorrow's game. It seems to be a question of putting together four quarters of the type of lacrosse Harvard is capable of playing.

The greatest pressure appears to be on Crimson offense. "In the games in which we've had problems, a major factor has been a breakdown in scoring in the second half," Zuckerman explained.

The defense will also have a tough assignment, however. The Tiger attack features sophomore standout Pete Johnson, the high scorer for Princeton, and teammates Jim Karanik and Kirk Unruh. The latter were the team's top two goal-getters in Ivy last year.

Harvard sophomore Bill Bennett will probably have the task of containing Johnson. Mike Ananis and McDowell, a very close friend of Unruh's, will make up the rest of the Crimson defense along with goalie John Cosentino.

Princeton coach Ferris Thomsen said. "The Harvard personnel is excellent. This year's Ivy League race is one of the most wide open ever." A major reason for his team's success has been the tough-checking midfield, which Thomsen considered the biggest question mark before the season started.

Harvard would probably be happy with a repeat of last year's game against the Tigers. The Crimson downed Princeton for the first time in 43 years as Marty Cain fired in an overtime shot for a 10-9 triumph after a goal by Jim Kilkowski had tied the game with 13 seconds left in the final period.