M. Lax Struggles to Replace Graduates, Staggers to 3-10

With 73 percent of last year's offense graduated, including All-American Mike Ferucci '98, the Harvard men's lacrosse team had to wonder who would score the goals entering the season.

After a long year, the Crimson had a few answers, but even those took so long in coming that it caused Harvard to plummet from 11-3 (5-1 Ivy) in 1998 to 3-10 (1-5 Ivy) in 1999. Harvard also went from a team unfairly snubbed by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee in 1998 to a squad that just wanted to win in 1999.

Harvard scored in double digits just once this year, in a 12-6 win over Boston College in the third game of the season. It averaged just 7.3 strikes this season, not nearly enough to represent a serious threat in the Ivies.

"We are young, but we can't use that as an excuse," Coach Scott Anderson said. "This season we began to doubt our ability to hang onto a win, and that became self-destructive."

The Crimson managed just two other victories during the season: it engineered a dramatic 8-7 overtime win over then-No. 15 Pennsylvania on March 27, and it held off a late Catamount charge to edge Vermont 7-6 on April 7.

Over the course of the year, sophomore midfielder Roger Buttles and attackman Dana Sprong, as well as juniors Geoffrey Watson and Lawson DeVries emerged as the team's top scoring threats.

Buttles blasted a shot over the Quaker netminder Matt Schroeder's right shoulder to give Harvard its biggest win of the year. The sophomore exploded for five goals in the contest, and it appeared that Harvard would have enough scoring potential to be competitive in the conference.

Unfortunately, that upset victory would stand as the only Ivy League win the Crimson could muster. After Harvard barely rode out of Vermont on top, it did not emerge victorious again.

The team did play surprisingly well against some of the best teams in the league, but the inconsistency of its youthful roster and a lack of scoring punch left it on the slack side of the ledger.

"We worked so hard to get everyone involved in the offense," Watson said. "But it's hard to get everyone clicking on all cylinders."

Harvard battled against perennial national powerhouse Princeton on April 17, losing 12-8. The Crimson trailed just 6-4 at the half, but it could not sustain that intensity, and the Tigers rattled off five straight goals and the start of the second half to seal the win.

On May 1 against then-No. 13 Notre Dame, Harvard actually jumped out to an 8-4 led by a hat trick by DeVries, the young squad's offensive field general. The Fighting Irish kicked it up a notch and slammed the door shut to win 9-8 in South Bend, Ind.

Despite the few close outcomes, too often Harvard simply did not score enough to win. During a seven-game losing streak that ended the season, Harvard dropped an 8-4 contest against UMass on April 21 and 9-5 against Yale.

The ball remained in the Crimson zone so often during the year that junior goaltender Keith Cynar must have felt under constant siege. Cynar had to make nearly 20 saves per game this season.

Harvard actually had a formidable defense led by captain Ethan Oberman, the only senior on the roster. He provided strong leadership, but the offense never could relieve the pressure.

"Ethan's been an excellent captain," sophomore attackman Dana Sprong said. "He's played through nagging injuries and has always been there for us."

All the team's weakness were put on display for the last game of the year against Dartmouth. In a surprising burst of offense, Watson's hat trick and De Vries's pair of goals helped stake Harvard out to a 7-1 halftime lead.

However, the inexperienced Crimson stalled while the Big Green poured it on for a nine-goal barrage, while Harvard could barely counter with two for a 10-9 loss.

With one more crushing defeat in the books, Harvard can only hope that somewhere, this young squad which returns all but one player has learned something for next season.

"I've got to give this team credit," Anderson said. "They've been excited for every game, and that's hard to do. We gained a lot of experience this year and that will make us better."