Stickmen Drop 4 on Spring Trip; Injuries, Tough Foes Hurt Team

It was not the sunniest of spring vacations for the lacrosse team. Pitted against top-flight competition with four major defensemen injured, the team lost all four games on its Southern tour.

All began well. In the first match against Rutgers Tuesday, junior Larry Palmer scored in the first ten, seconds of the game. This edge--the only one during the entire tour--was short-lived, however, and the Crimson lost 11-4. Facing Navy, 1964 national lacrosse champion, the team went down to a resounding 16-1 defeat, Wednesday. Friday and Saturday, Harvard lost to the University of Baltimore 11-4 and the University of Maryland 12-5.

Broken collar-bones, separated shoulders, disjointed knees and the usual "charley-horses" severely weakened the Harvard defense. Regular defensemen Captain Fred Gates and Dan Calderwood were both injured in the Rutgers game and only played intermittently during the rest of the tour. Sophomores Dave Davis and Rick Loomis did a good job of filling in on defense.

Dexter Newton and Harry van Oudenallen, both mid-fielders, also suffered injuries. After the Maryland game on Saturday one spectator was led to compare the team to "a ward from Walter Reed hospital."

The weak defense made matters difficult for goalie Peter Fine. In his first varsity season in the position, Fine turned in a creditable performance, making an impressive 21 and 15 saves in the Rutgers and Navy games.

Offensively the team suffered from lack of co-ordination between attackmen and the offensive mid-field. Several men played well individually but there was a detrimental absence of team effort. Ted Leary scored two goals and played particularly well in the Maryland game.