Stickmen Expect Close Battle In Final Game Against Yale

Confident after last Saturday's sudden death win over Dartmouth, the varsity lacrosse team will try to end a disappointing season with a victory tomorrow when it travels to New Haven to face the Bulldogs.

Yale is a slight favorite, but the Crimson should give the Elis a tough match. Although they boast 11 experienced seniors, the Bulldogs have posted an unimpressive record this year, winning only 6 out of 14 games.

Their success tomorrow will depend on the performance of their only talented attackman, captain Tom Fagan, who has collected 28 goals and 16 assists this spring to lead the squad in scoring for the third straight season.

Last year Fagan won second-team All-American honors, and in Harvard's 10-9 win over Yale, he scored five times despite close coverage by the Crimson's star All-Ivy defenseman, Charlie Kittredge.

Yale has one other strong player, All-American Larry Story, who leads the defense although a knee injury has bothered him throughout the spring. Story's task will be stopping Harvard's top scorer, John Hagerty, who put in the winning goal against the Indians to board his point total to 31.

The Yale defense has allowed 124 goals in 14 games, with All-Ivy netminder Bing Gordon earning a 56 per cent save average. Gordon has been erratic this year through, playing very poorly in several games.

"Yale is a better squad than Dartmouth," Crimson coach Bruce Munro said. "The team goes well if Fagan goes well, but with a little luck, we could win."

The Bulldogs have fared better than Harvard in the Ivy League, where they hold a 3-2 record with wins over Penn, Princeton and Dartmouth. A victory today would give them the Big Three Championship title.

The Crimson is now 1-4 in Ivy standings, with a 3-7 overall season record. Harvard has traditionally had trouble with its rival, having lost 38 out of 50 games since the series began.