Yale Spoils Lackluster Laxmen's Day, 14-7

Maybe the Elis wanted revenge. Or maybe they just wanted to make the best of a gorgeous spring day.

But whatever its motivation, Yale had little trouble dismantling the Harvard men's lacrosse team, 14-7, Saturday at Ohiri Field.

While a loss to the Bulldogs is ordinarily painful, this game marked Harvard's sixth straight loss and a dramatic downturn from its previously competitive showings.

While Harvard controlled the first quarter, breaking out to a 5-4 lead, the Elis dominated the rest, including a monster five-goal third period. Harvard's defense proved ineffective in the second half, as the Elis sliced into the crease with ease.

An injury to expert defender Mike Kramer halfway through the second frame did not aid the Crimson either. After being nailed in the windpipe while fighting for the ball in front of the Crimson cage, Kramer was taken directly to the hospital.

The Crimson offense hobbled along through the last three quarters as well, netting only two goals, despite numerous scoring opportunities.

Yale, on the other hand, swarmed the Crimson in the defensive zone, and was blessed by strong performances from its talented attackers and midfielders. Senior middie Brian Walter recorded a hat trick, while Kim Dunn and Brendan Sheehan both tallied two goals and two assists. Senior attacker Josh McHugh dominated the crease zone, leading Yale with five goals.

Tri-Captains Mick Cavouti and Dan O'Sullivan each tallied a goal and an assist in the losing effort.

Harvard now drops to a woeful 2-9 record overall and 1-4 Ivy, just one notch above perennial cellar-dweller Dartmouth. With only two games left, against New Hampshire and the Big Green, the rest of the season is basically a formality, with any hopes of post-season play reserved for summer leagues.

What Could Have Been

With the sun beating down and the sidelines packed with both Elis and Crimson fans, Saturday's competition could have been exciting lacrosse. And for the first half, it was.

Harvard scored only 30 seconds into the contest, when Mike Porter blistered around the cage and drove to the middle, firing a hard shot by Yale netminder Rich Dressler.

Eli Josh McHugh tallied five minutes later with his first of many goals from the crease, but Crimson midfielder Paul Faust immediately countered the Elis attack with a groundball scoop-in that pushed Harvard to a 2-1 lead.

But Yale's explosive offense could not be contained for long. In the next four minutes, the Elis rattled off three goals, the last coming at 12:08, when Brian Walter stuffed the ball into the net from the right side of the crease off a long Brendan Sheehan feed.

Just as the Elis looked like they might run away with the game, the Crimson got the break it needed. After Yale called a timeout, the referees called Kim Dunn for an illegal stick, sending him out for three minutes.

The Crimson made the best of the man-up opportunity sending in three goals in the final two minutes to regain the lead. Tim Reilly fired in a beautiful wraparound shot from the right side and Steve Buetow scooped in a grounder in the first minute of the penalty.

With 58 seconds left, hockey star turned lacrosse defender Derek Maguire tallied the first goal of his career, with a blistering shot from the top of the restraining box that eerily resembled a slap-shot from the blue line.

Unfortunately for the Crimson, the man-up lasted only three minutes. With its offense fully restored, the Elis roared back in the second frame, dominating possession and tallying three goals to take a 7-5 lead heading into halftime.

The Elis, however, reserved the true onslaught for the third quarter. Whether running or playing settled, Yale crushed Harvard, blowing by the Crimson defenders and tallying easy goals from within 10 yards of the cage.

Paced by Kim Dunn, Yale tallied five goals in the third and two more in the fourth to keep the Crimson permanently at bay. In the final session, Harvard could barely clear the ball, and when they did challenge the Elis cage, the Crimson could not capitalize.