Home Isn't Always Where the Heart Is

You can't go home again...

Not if you're one of 13 players on the Harvard men's lacrosse team who call Long Island home.

Last Saturday, the Crimson travelled south to suburban Garden City, home of the Adelphi Panthers. The thoughtful Adelphi administration, no doubt recalling the exploits of Crimson attackman Mickey Cavuoti and Co-Captain Rob Griffith for Garden City High, was kind enough to hold its Homecoming that day.

It rained on the Homecoming parade. It poured. And the Crimson folded.

Harvard couldn't control the ball. It couldn't keep up with the Panther fast break. It couldn't shoot the ball past Adelphi netminder Jim Cheeseman.

Cavuoti, the high-scoring 1988 Ivy Rookie of the Year, was held scoreless. Griffith managed one goal on a shot that barely slithered through the mud past Cheeseman.

"It wasn't a great shot," Griffith said. "I was pretty disappointed when I shot it because I didn't get any strength into it. But I'll take what I can get."

The returning Crimson Long Islanders didn't get much. David Kramer, from Lloyd Harbor, got a goal. Chris Garvey, from Dix Hills, got an assist. Manhasset native Tim Reilly got a separated shoulder.

Some Homecoming. The Adelphi Kick Line, performing a risque half-time routine to Patrick Hernandez's "Born to Be Alive" in the Styles Field mud, had a better day. The three courageous members of the Adelphi Chorale Society who croaked their way through a painful rendition of their alma mater had a better day. The last-place New York Islanders from Uniondale didn't make the playoffs, but they probably would have had a better day if they did.

"The whole week was an embarrassment," Garvey said. "This was bad, and the St. John's loss was devastating. The party atmosphere was just gone."

The Crimson (5-3 overall, 1-1 Ivy) will be glad to escape from New York, where it has sustained all three of its losses. First Cornell in Ithaca, then a last-second loss to St. John's in Queens. And now this 13-5 blowout to Adelphi. Harvard can take solace in the fact that they are undefeated in Massachusetts (4-0 at home, 1-0 at Boston College).

On the Airwaves: The Adelphi game was broadcast live on cable TV by the Long Island Sports Network (LISN). The LISN analysts should be commended for limiting their "Down Under" jokes regarding Panther midfielder Gordon Purdie--a graduate student from Melbourne, Australia--to one. However, their mysterious discussion of attackman Jeff Reh's maladies after his fifth goal was incomprehensible.

"Not only did he hurt his leg," the well-meaning color commentator said, "but he hurt his hand at home fooling around with his brother."

Not to be outdone, the announcer for WBAU Radio shocked the pressbox with his reminiscence about Harvard's 16-12 loss to Johns Hopkins in the NCAA finals last year. He was quickly informed that his facts were somewhat inaccurate--actually, the Crimson was eliminated by Navy, 10-9, in the first round. Syracuse defeated Cornell in the finals, 13-8. Close enough.

If you Don't Have Anything Nice to Say, Say Something Nice Dept.: OK. So last week was not a great one for the Crimson. Two ugly losses, and a fall from number seven to 14 in the national rankings. But they weren't Ivy losses. The Ivy League is still up for grabs. Penn (4-1) leads the league, but Harvard has only one loss and has beaten the Quakers.

Here's the prediction: With its two toughest Ivy games out of the way, the Crimson will win its last four to cop its first title since 1980.

Today's battle against Brown (3-5 overall, 2-1 Ivy), who lost to Adelphi in overtime last week, at Chiri Field will be crucial.

"If we can get on top early and get our confidence up, we should be able to put them away," Griffith said.

Some lineup changes may be imminent, and Garvey said Coach Scott Anderson has adjusted the Crimson style.

"We're going to try to control the ball more--that's key," Garvey said. "We'll try to push the ball up more, attack the cage more, and play more aggressively on defense."

If Harvard doesn't, another trip to the NCAA finals may be out of the question.