UMass Mauls Laxmen; Murphy Rules, 13-7

Murphy must be delighted with the Harvard lacrosse team. The laxmen dropped a 13-7 decision to the University of Massachusetts yesterday at Ohiri Field, confirming the old maxim: "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong."

The defense went wrong, and injuries were the culprit. Staring defenseman Ralph Hartmann had gone down with a torn hamstring against Yale April 14, Charlie Watch had filled the gap to prevent other teams from exploiting the lost.

Guess who Murphy stuck down next.

Welch was unable to play yesterday with a stomach infection, and with a huge hole in the Harvard defense the Minutemen wasted time in taking advantage.

Actually, they wasted 20 seconds before they scored their first goad, and waited 35 more to add their second.

Isolating Harvard's inexperienced defensemen the Minutemen scored four of their whopping six first-period goals on one-on-one dodges from behind the cage.

With the defense and clearing ineffectual and with a 6-1 first period deficit staring them in the face the laxmen's offensive play declined sharply, even when the defense improved.

"When you get behind people lose confidence in basics," Coach Bob Scalise said. "We took some weak shots on their goal. We lost confidence in taking shoots to score."

The normally crisp offense produced just two goals in the first half by Tom Corcoran in the first period and Co-Captain Paul Garavente in the second. The scores left Harvard with a 7-2 half time deficit.

All-New England attacker Chris--who had two goals and three assists Saturday at Princeton and leads the laxmen with 19 goals and 21 assits--was bold without a goal for the first time this season.

The Crimson's comeback hopes were fulled when the attack failed on several promising fast break opportunities, including one Scalise considered crucial.

Opening the third period down 7-2, Harvard sandwiched scores by midfielder Rufus Clart and Cargugente around one UMass tally to cut the score to 8-4.

Then as excellent fast break opportunity came up empty when a Crimson shot sailed wide to the right. The Minutemen look the bull and promptly scored, ending Harvard's comeback before it began.

UMass added two more goals to make the score 11-4 and wrap up the contest. Harvard's final three goals were strictly academic.

The Crimson offense clearly suffered from playing desperate catch-up from the first eight minutes. As Scalise said, "You start to press when you're behind. When you press there's no deception. It becomes obvious what you're going to do. You take shots you wouldn't ordinarily take."

Corcoran tallied two fourth-period scores while All-American Co-Captain Rob Hauley pounded an unassisted score. But the Harvard offense is built, Scalise said, around movement by the pair, and with UMass expecting them to take it so the cage, the offense became predictable and less effective.

The Crimson (2-8 ever all, 0-5 in the lives) next faces 10-2 Holy Cross a potent offensive force that crushed Villanova Saturday, 19-5.