Stickmen Edge Dartmouth; Defense Secures 7-6 Win

A third quarter rally coupled with another steady performance from the defensemen helped the Crimson laxmen survive intermittent showers and the late drive of the Big Green offense to eke out a narrow 7-6 win yesterday afternoon at the Business School field.

Crimson attackman Norm Forbush started a seesaw-like scoring battle when he put the Crimson up 1-0 at the 5:04 mark in the opening period. After surveying the Darmouth defense momentarily, the quick sophomore swerved from behind the cage and gunned a shot past goalie Charlie Moore.

Moments later, Dartmouth middle Lee Apgar went one on one against Crimson netminder John Lechner and pushed a goal past to put the Big Green on the board.

At the ten minute mark Harvard freshman, Brendan Meagher, found co-captain Peter Predun cutting towards the goal and zeroed in on him with a fast feed. Predun quick-sticked the ball from the crease for another Crimson tally.

The Big Green picked up two in the second quarter to take the lead for the first and only time in the game. Lechner's 11 saves kept the visitors at a safe distance for most of the game.

Sandwiched between the Darmouth scores was another marker for the Crimson. Predun, moving towards the cage at just the right moment gobbled up the rebound from a Meagher shot and drove it home.

Unaccustomed to sitting on the short side of the score, the stickmen roared out from halftime determined to surmount the 4-3 deficit.

Attackman Gary Pedroni went to work first, pulling Moore out of the goal to defend against the sidearm shot. Seeing Moore off balance in front of him, Pedroni shifted and flipped in a neat behind the back shot to even the score and prime the slow-starting Harvard offense at '20.

A half minute later Meagher added one to the Crimson total with a jet from the left. Forbush pulled a dodge move three minutes later and the Crimson had some breathing room.

Pedroni secured the final tally for the laxmen less than a minute into the final quarter.

Holding a 7-4 lead, the Crimson offense dried up in the closing minutes, giving Dartmouth a chance to creep up. Attackmen Rob Olsson and Dave O'Connor both fired home big ones to bring the Big Green to within striking distance.

Not to be outshone, defensemen Scott Pink, Haywood Miller and Frank Prezioso stepped up their pace to squelch the Dartmouth comeback attempt. Swarming the Big Green, the defensemen forced the late turnovers and put out the fire.

"Dartmouth lost to Cornell over the weekend and then came in here with its back to the wall, needing a win to establish itself," Coach Bob Scalise said last night. "Like us, they play a very physical game and in this weather where the slick field eliminates our speed advantage, their size makes up for some lack of skill.

With a five game winning streak on the line, the Cimson travels to Providence Saturday where Brown, the number 11 team in the country, will try to knock off the Crimson.