Crimson Tips Top-Ranked Minutemen; Bergman's 22 Saves Enliven Defense

AMHERST Coach Bob Scalise needn't worry about the Harvard men's lacrosse team falling victim to the post-equinoctal illness known as senior slump. For the second week in a row Scalise's wunderkinds led a potent offense, defeating the University of Massachusetts, 10-7, yesterday at Amherst.

The win places the Crimson, now 6-5 but out of the Ivy race since the second week of the season, in the lead for the New England Championship. Preceeding wins over second ranked Brown top-ranked at the time and third-ranked UNH, coupled with yesterday's upset victory over first-place Massachusetts leaves the Crimson poised to claim the title.

The only obstacle remaining is the upcoming game with Dartmouth May 12. "We've beaten the number one, two and three teams," Scalise said yesterday. "If we beat Dartmouth, we should have a good chance at the New England Championship, but Dartmouth is a tough team though."

In yesterday's contest, Harvard controlled the game from the outset but did not pull away for good until sophomore attackman Peter Follows scored with seconds remaining in the third quarter. Moving from behind the net, Follows burned a Minuteman defenseman and easily slipped the rubber past goalie Gerald Moreau for a 7-6 Crimson lead.

Junior Paul Garavente's strike and a 40 foot underhanded worm burner by junior Rob Hawley (three goals, two assists) put the Crimson three goals up with six minutes remaining in the game.

The Minutemen managed to narrow the Harvard lead to two when Karl Hatton outmaneuvered Crimson midfielder Phil Blazar and shot one of the rare balls that freshman goaltender Mike Bergman didn't get his stick on. But with the help of a swarming and agressive defense Bergman shut the door at seven and played an impressive game, making 22 saves and sparking the effective Crimson clear.

"The defense played spectacularly," Scalise said. "They denied Massachusetts all the inside shots and did a great job."

The success of the defense was in part due to the overall Crimson game plan. Harvard played a control game searching for the high percentage shots while at the same time disrupting the unsettled Minutemen attack, Led by the stick work of sophomore Chris Pujols and Hawley, the Crimson consistently managed to penetrate to the crease and find the open outside shots.

"We wanted to deny Massachusetts' unsettled game and overall speed," Scalise said. "We wanted to slow the pace of the game down and play six-on-six offense."

In desperation, Massachusetts resorted to isolating a player one on one at the point during the remaining minutes of the game. But a Bergman save and a smooth clear allowed the Crimson to run down the clock till Pujols scored the last of his three goals with 18 seconds left for the 10-7 Harvard win.

The Crimson travels to Long Island Saturday for its game with C.W. Post.