Laxmen Stop C. W. Post, 8-4

They could have mailed this one in on a Post card.

The Harvard men's varsity lacrosse team won its season opener on Saturday, 8-4, over the C.W. Post Pioneers in front of 300 fans at Ohiri Field.

The game was never as close as the final four-goal margin. Harvard put the game away early with a balanced scoring attack. The ball stayed in the Post defensive end for nearly the entire first half, as the experienced Crimson offense unleashed a fullscale assault on beleaguered Pioneer goalie Lou Jannotte.

"What can you say? They outplayed us in every aspect of the game," Pioneer Coach Tom Postel said. "They controlled the ball 70 percent of the time, and you can't win games playing defense all day."

The Crimson struck first, as Co-Captain Robert Griffith's shot from the left box got past Jannotte at the 5:48 mark of the second period.

Having drawn first blood, the Crimson continued to assault the Pioneers. Five minutes later, Brad Raymond broke free, received a Steve Lux pass in the slot and deposited it in the net for a two-goal Crimson lead.

With the Post defense swarming around Ivy Rookie of the Year Mickey Cavuoti, the Crimson's crisp passing repeatedly led to wide-open scoring opportunities. Janotte made several key saves, including pointblank denials of David Kramer and Perry Dodge stuff attempts.

Lady Luck was also keeping the Pioneers in the game--Lux and junior midfielder Mark Donovan both clanged shots off the crossbar.

But Janotte could not keep the Crimson at bay for long. In the second quarter, Pioneer wounds were doused with liberal portions of Crimson salt.

Senior midfielder Chris Garvey began the onslaught with a high screamer that found the Pioneer net. Cavuoti bounced a shot past Jannotte in a man-up situation and finally, Griffith's goal with 1:48 remaining in the half extended the Crimson lead to 5-0.

Post middie Ray Esposito finally broke freshman goaltender Chris Miller's shutout with 1:48 remaining in the half, and a Greg Milard missile over Miller's shoulder cut the deficit to three early in the second half.

But the Pioneers could not take advantage of the Crimson's sloppy third period play. Without any semblance of a concerted attack, the Postmen could not deliver.

Crimson Coach Scott Anderson was pleased with his team's play, but was concerned about his squad's several third-quarter lapses.

"I'm very happy with our ball movement, not so happy with our shooting," Anderson said. "We got a little complacent when we got out in front."

Anderson saved his highest praise for Miller, whose 12 saves anchored the Crimson defense.

"Chris played great. He made the saves he had to," Harvard's second-year coach said.

"They're young defensively, and we didn't take advantage of that," Postel said. "They have a seasoned offense and they play well together. We thought Cavuoti was the main individual to concern ourselves with, and the other guys executed."

Griffith, Garvey and Cavuoti scored two goals apiece for the Crimson, who peppered Jannotte with 36 shots.

The Crimson will begin their Ivy League season next Saturday in Ithaca, N.Y., against Cornell, last year's NCAA runner-up.