Quakers Get Best Of Laxmen, 15-10

The whistle blew, the game began, but the Harvard men's lacrosse team was still on vacation.

Saturday, Harvard (4-1) suffered its first loss of the season. Pennsylvania (2-2) defeated the Crimson, 15-10, on the Astroturf of Philadelphia's Franklin Field in front of 600 spectators.

The Quakers, coming off of an 12-11 loss to Yale, were hungry for an Ivy League victory. The Crimson had just returned from its spring trip to Arizona and appeared to still be on Pacific Standard Time, sleeping through the first half.

Penn came out strong and dominated the first half. Harvard's normally rock-solid defense could not keep the Quakers away from the cage. After only 10 minutes of play, Penn led, 3-0.

"The first half we were really flat," Tri-Captain Bill Pennoyer said. "I don't really know all the reasons why. We did a lot of traveling and Rich got hurt. Those are some of the reasons."

Tri-Captain Rich van den Broek broke his right arm last week in a scrimmage against Arizona State.

"We really could have used Rich. He is the midfield defender and they had a really strong midfield," Pennoyer said. "But our team is strong enough to overcome his loss."

Penn's top midfielder is Chris Flynn, a second-team All-American selection last year and an All-Ivy running back on the Quaker football team. Although Harvard held him to only two points in scoring, he won a very impressive 22 of the 29 face-offs.

In the closing minutes of the first quarter a shot by Harvard attackman Steve Lux found the back of net, putting the Crimson on the scoreboard.

The second quarter belonged to the Quakers. They scored after only 35 seconds had elapsed, and they never let up after that. Five shots got past Harvard goalie Michael Bergmann in that disasterous 15 minutes of play. In Harvard's victory over Cornell earlier this season, the Big Red scored five goals in the third quarter.

The Quakers had a commanding 8-1 lead by intermission.

"They really wanted to play and when we finally woke up it was too late," Pennoyer said.

The Crimson came to life in the second half. In a valiant comeback attempt, David Kramer fired home five goals. Nick Nero and Micky Cavuoti each recorded a pair.

Unfortunately, the Harvard defense could not completely shut down Penn's powerful offense. The Quakers added seven second-half goals to their total.

"We will have to work on our defense." Pennover said. "But they were shooting really well. It was amazing how many of their shots hit the crossbar and went in."

On March 26, Harvard crushed Springfield, 15-3. The game was played on Ohiri Field in the pouring rain. Thirty fans braved the harsh weather conditions to watch Harvard triumph.

The Crimson played well despite being soaking wet. The offense generated more goals than in any other game and the defense was nearly impenetrable.

Kramer led Harvard in scoring with four goals and an assist. Brad Raymond and Lux each had three goals and an assist.