M. Lax Loses a Close One

The men's lacrosse team battled in a back and forth game for sixty minutes but fell just short of a win, losing to the Hobart Statesmen 7-6 in the season's home opener.

After a two week layoff due to a cancelled game at Boston College, the Crimson (0-2) came out flat in the first period but awoke in the second to dominate the next two stanzas.

Hobart (1-1) opened the scoring with two goals in the first quarter and controlled the pace of the game throughout much of the first fifteen minutes.

When the whistle blew at the end of the first frame, the Crimson found itself down 2-0 and in need of a quick response to regain some momentum. It got it from junior midfielder Geoff Watson and sophomore attackman Dana Sprong.

Sprong struck quickly, scoring less then a minute into the second period off a feed from Watson.

For much of the afternoon, the two worked in tandem around the goal and constantly pestered the Hobart longsticks.

Watson found the back of the cage two minutes later after strong midfield play lead to a quick transition and a wide-open shot.

Watson's tally leveled the score and began some of the best play the Crimson managed all afternoon.

The offense settled down in the second period and produced solid scoring chances, outshooting the Statesmen 12-5 in the stanza.

In addition to Watson's and Sprong's tallies, sophomore Roger Buttles made a couple of strong moves towards the goal and narrowly missed each time.

Harvard noticeably improved from its first game against Fairfield where the lack of set plays and motion stalled the Crimson offense. In sixty minutes of play against the Stags Harvard did not use a set piece and the score line suffered because of it.

After a Hobart goal put the Crimson down 3-2, Watson again beat the Statesmen goalie for his second strike.

Watson found himself all alone on the right side of the goal, having received a pass from the top of the offensive zone. Charging towards the cage, Watson looked high and went low, embarrassing the Hobart netminder with a shot through the legs.

Watson's third goal came with just 15 seconds left in the first half. Moving across the crease, Watson received a pass from behind the cage and immediately snapped a shot through the scrum in front of the goal mouth.

The net rippled before the Statesmen goalie made a full reaction.

The half ended with the Crimson ahead 4-3 and the third period saw similar Crimson domination.

Sprong put the Crimson up 5-3 after getting free on the side of the goal and dumping the ball in the net.

He was assisted by freshman Colin Leary. The novice midfielder got considerable time in the game, pestering the Statesmen behind the goal while setting up his teammates at the front of the cage.

The euphoria was shortlived, however, as the fourth period was controlled by the Statesmen.

Although the Crimson entered the last period with the momentum on its side, Hobart's defense--the anchor of the team--was impermeable in much of the final frame. With the Crimson offense bottled up the Statesmen were able to focus on offense and pulled ahead with two early goals to raise the score to 6-5.

Sprong added a sixth goal towards the end of the period, his third of the day, off another assist from Watson. With the score tied at 6-6 late in the game it appeared that the next goal would be the winner.

Feeding off of its defense, the Statesmen got the last goal with a little more than four minutes left and put the game out of reach. Although they tried to equalize, the Crimson offense was ineffective in the closing minutes, and the game ended with a Statesmen celebration.

Though the loss was the Crimson's second of the season, it differs from the embarrassment in Fairfield two weeks earlier. The close defeat was marked by a number of positive performances and promising signs for the coming weeks.

Junior netminder Keith Cynar faced thirty shots and made 16 saves, many at point blank range.

"A lot of their offensive movement is built off set plays that work right along the crease, setting picks and just trying to bother us," Cynar said. "It's just tough working against that, but I think we did a pretty good job."

In addition to Cynar's play the Crimson line-up featured a number of freshmen that moved into key positions and played well.

Leary created a number of scoring chances and was a huge source of movement in the Crimson offense.

Freshman Mike Meagher filled in at the other end in the center of the defense. With junior defensive standout Jeff Psaki marking Hobart's top scorer, Meagher was stellar throughout.

"I thought he did a great job, especially when we were clearing the ball, one of our biggest problems," Cynar said, "He worked hard and made some good decisions. I was impressed."

Meagher did not expect to play as much against Hobart.

"I had worked a lot during the week in drills during practice, but I was still surprised to get that much playing time," Meagher said. "It felt good just to be in there and get some experience and to contribute early in the season."

Freshman midfielders Mike Baly and James Christian also saw some considerable time and responded with strong efforts. Christian tallied his first collegiate point with an assist to Geoff Watson.

"It was a surprise to get in and play so much," Christian said. "I had been playing a lot of defensive middie, but coach put me into an offensive position on Thursday, and I got to contribute today."

Watson's three goals and two assists and Sprong's three goals established them as potent scoring powers in the Crimson offense. Sprong now has five goals on the season. Watson has four goals and a pair of assists.

As the Crimson again ended up in the losing column there are still some things to work on.

One of the biggest concerns on offense must be the scoring silence of junior Lawson DeVries. A volatile scoring threat last season, DeVries has yet to net a goal.

Although he was haggled all day by Hobart's top defender, the Crimson offense will have to learn how to get DeVries the ball if it expects to go far this season.

The Crimson will look for its first win this Wednesday against cross-town stickmen Boston College at 3:30 at Ohiri Field.