Crimson Set to Boot Panthers

In the fall, he proved he could boot. In the spring, he is proving he can shoot.

This fall, David Kramer led the Harvard soccer team in scoring. This spring, Kramer leads the Harvard lacrosse team in scoring.

Kramer (15 goals, four assists) will be called upon to work his scoring magic again Saturday when the Crimson laxmen host Adelphi at 1 p.m. Admission is free, but bring ski coat, wool hat, a couple of blankets and some sticks to throw on the bonfire at Ohiri Field.

The Panthers, whom Kramer remembers from soccer season (Harvard got the best of them, 3-0, en route to the NCAA Final Four), possess an inglorious 2-3 record but have some big guns in their pack.

Adelphi is led by the triumvirate of Gordie Purdie, Shaun Keenan and Scott Reh, each the owner of nine goals.

Panther goalie Jim ("I am the Cheese") Cheeseman owns a .646 save percentage. Kramer, Mike Cavuoti (six goals, nine assists) and Brad Raymond (eight goals, four assists) will try to find the holes in Adelphi's Mr. Swiss.

Harvard got a good warm-up for this match-up Monday, when it dispatched St. John's, 9-3, at Ohiri.

"Our defense is maturing," Harvard Tri-Captain Mike Bergmann said Monday. "We wanted to use this game as a tune-up for Adelphi. Half the season is riding on Adelphi."

And half of Harvard's success is riding on Bergmann and his defensive corps. The Crimson defense held the Redmen scoreless in the second half Monday.

Bergmann, who led all college goaltenders in goals-against-average last year, sports a 5.82 g.a.a. and .717 save percentage this season.

Polls

The Crimson (6-1 overall, 1-1 Ivy League) is shooting at two birds this year--an Ivy championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance. Achieving the first would guaranteed the second, but the first will not be easy.

Three teams--Yale (ranked sixth nationally), Penn (eighth) and Brown (10th)--are ahead of the Crimson (11th) in national polls. And Harvard already lost to Penn, 15-10, in Philadelphia two weeks ago.

Another league loss, and the Crimson's prospects for Ivy and national glory will dim considerably. Harvard will resume its Ivy schedule April 20, when it faces Brown in Providence.

A win this Saturday against Adelphi would enhance the Crimson's national prestige--hence Bergmann's reference to the game as "half the season"--but it will not guarantee a post-season bid.

Coaching Kudos

Harvard Coach Scott Anderson's assessment of his team's season thus far: "When you win, it's hard not to be pleased. We've got the real meat of our schedule ahead of us. So we're going to have to play better to beat teams like Adelphi, Yale, UMass and Brown.

"I think we've responded well to [Tri-Captain and defensive wizard] Rich Van den Broeck's injury. We made some adjustments on defense, and the defense is back on track. We're getting better every day--that's all you can ask for."

Random Notes

Harvard has to play both Brown and Yale (April 30) on the road...Former Harvard lacrosse Coach Bob Scalise, now attending the Harvard Business School, appeared for Monday's game...UMass is ranked ninth in current national polls and faces the Crimson April 27 in Amherst.