Adelphi Defeats Harvard, 14-7, In Off-Season Lacrosse Game

Adelphi rallied in the last period to out-distance Harvard, 14-7, Sunday in the only game of Harvard's first pre-season lacrosse program.

Mid-fielder Bill Tennis was high scorer for the Crimson with four goals and two assists. Also scoring were captain Jim Quinn, and mid-fielders Bruce Bruckmann and Giles Whalen.

Defenseman Mike Belmont said the score was not indicative of how well Harvard played. At the end of the third period, the score was 9-7, but in the fourth period Harvard "made some mental errors and Adelphi got some cheap goals," he said.

"We got off some really good shots on the goal, but their goalies made some nice saves," said mid-fielder Andy Gellis.

Defenseman Jeff Flanders said the game was "valuable because it built cohesiveness and let us see how well we could do against a good team."

Adelphi, located on lacross-crazy Long Island, is one of the top small colleges in the country and is ranked among the top ten nationally every year.

Belmont said coach Bob Scalise started the three-week fall program this year so "he could see what he had to work with and we could meet him. Unfortunately, we didn't have all the time we could have used to prepare for the game."

Bruckmann said the three-week practice period only included ten days of actual practice because Scalise was also coaching soccer.

Gellis said Ivy League rules allow a team to play one off-season game. Unlike most Ivy League schools, Harvard has never had an off-season program because "there has never been much enthusiasm for lacrosse at Harvard until this year," he said.

Belmont added that the team was more enthusiastic this year than in past years. He said the 25 players drove to Adelphi in their own cars because they received no support from the Athletic Department.

Hopes for Survival

"The program has been extremely valuable for the team," Bruckmann said. "I wouldn't say we're going to be great this season, but we won't get killed by teams like Cornell, Brown and Penn. I don't know if our record will improve but we'll be in the game for a change."

Belmont said the team wants to improve its last year's record of three wins and six losses. "We hope to pull one or two upsets this year," he said.

"Coach Scalise has high hopes of making drastic improvements in the program. We're hoping the game will become a large spectator sport," Gellis said.