M. Lacrosse Meets Notre Dame in Battle of Lax Elites

Ohiri Field is the place to be this afternoon as the Harvard men's lacrosse team challenges rival Notre Dame.

The Crimson, 4-0 overall this season, is currently ranked 12th in the nation after upsetting Duke, the number eight seed. Notre Dame is only one ranking away at 11.

Going into the game, Harvard is hungry for revenge.

"Last year we lost to Notre Dame by playing really badly," junior defenseman Jeremy Linzee said. "We know we can beat this team."

Key assets for Harvard are strength and confidence. Strength is provided by players such as sophomore Mike Ferucci and co-captain Mike Eckert, both leading the attack. In the team's last game against Vermont, Eckert scored an amazing five goals and seven assists.

Confidence is a direct consequence of the team's positive attitude as it works its way up from sixteenth place.

"We are here to stay," Linzee said. "We are here to be taken extremely seriously."

The Crimson also benefits from the many upsets which have taken place so far this season.

"Anything can happen," Linzee said. "Yale just beat Brown and that's an enormous upset. There have been a lot of upsets this year."

However, the team is also conscious that it will have to provide strong opposition against Notre Dame in order to win.

"When you're coming from the bottom, every inch is given grudgingly," Linzee said.

In terms of strategy, the Crimson is hoping to maintain control of ground balls and use the offense to control the game's pace and to score.

Defensive players will need strong communication skills as well as the ability to take over the game when Notre Dame gets the ball.

Harvard will be thwarted in its efforts by the nature of Notre Dame's team, a "very patient team." Thus the game will revolve around gaining control of the ball and in particular around "coming up with ground balls," as Linzee pointed out.

The Crimson has suffered two key losses due to injury this season. Seniors Pat McCulloch and Tim Browne both dislocated their shoulder during earlier games.

However, these injuries should not have a negative impact on the team's performance.

Browne, who practiced yesterday, will be playing against Notre Dame, and although McCulloch is out at present, sophomore Pat Marvin will be replacing him on faceoff. Marvin has been playing well in this position in the last few games.

The Crimson is very excited to face Notre Dame this afternoon, both to prove its worth and to prepare for other upcoming games. Indeed, although this game is an important part of the season, it is also a stepping stone to Ivy League teams like Princeton and Brown.

Last year, both teams tied for the Ivy title. This year, Harvard will also be a chief contender. Thus it will use all the experience it can get.

"Hopefully we'll be building every game, getting stronger every game," said sophomore attackman Jim Bevilacqua.