Laxmen Save Face, Addle Adelphi, 11-8

It took the Harvard men's lacrosse team a while to get back on track Saturday.

Following their upset loss to University of New Hampshire on Wednesday, the laxmen finally pieced everything together and defeated highly ranked Adelphi, 13-11, Saturday to raise their record to 8-5 overall.

But the Crimson did not jump out to an early lead, as it had hoped. The team was trailing, 4-1, after the first period of play.

Then Co-Captain Tom Corcoran took over.

"The defensemen were afraid of him [Corcoran]," Harvard's Bill Pennoyer said.

The laxmen were then able to string together four straight goals: suddenly it seemed that they were going to spoil Adelphi's chances for post-season play.

But a good team never quits, especially not when it's on the brink of a loss. Adelphi followed up with three goals of its own to grab a 7-5 lead.

The squads then exchanged goals to reach an 8-8 deadlock.

Once again Harvard scored four--and sure enough, Adelphi scored three more.

The score stood at 12-11 in favor of the Crimson when lady luck took over. The laxmen scored on a man-up situation, and time ran out.

Harvard had already been eliminated from any NCAA tournament possibilities with its loss to UNH, but it faced this game with intensity. "It gained us some respect," defenseman Pennoyer said.

Corcoran led all scorers with six goals and one assist. Also scoring for Harvard were Co-Captain Chris Pujols, Rufus Clark--with two goals each--and Tim McCaffrey, Steve Lux, and Dean Graham with one goal apiece.

Graham's goal--his first of the season--was a beauty, as he took the ball the length of the field unaided.

"This was definitely one of our best outings of the year, especially coming off our worst outing," defenseman Ralph Hartman said. The Crimson was helped by out-standing performances on defense by Hartman, Pennoyer and goalie Mark Vita.

Next Saturday, the Crimson finishes its regular season with a game against Dartmouth.

"Dartmouth beat Princeton. It'll be tougher than expected, but we should beat them," Corcoran said. With a season-ending victory. Harvard could finish ranked among the country's top 15 squads.