In spite of an unimpressive two victories in five starts, coach Bob Pickett maintains that the Yardling lacrosse team is well above average and will give much individual strength to the varsity next year. And he points to the record to prove it.

The freshmen started the season with losses to Tabor, Deerfield, and Exeter, three prep schools which Pickett lists among the strongest teams in the East. All three schools field varsity teams with extensive experience in intramural play and the Exeter farm system has managed to produce championship teams for several years.

Against such seasoned opposition, Pickett has sent a team centering around 11 former Exeter players, with the balance coming from other New England schools and from the lacrosse-conscious Baltimore area.

Individual Strength

The material is individually impressive, Pickett claims, but adds, "we have a long way to go to be a team." His progress towards a team was indicated by the Yardlings' narrow victory over Williams, 6 to 4, on Saturday. It was the first conquest of a comparable opponent.

Significant of the need for less individualism and more team play was the scoring against Williams Saturday: Charlie Mallonce scored four of the Yardlings' six goals, and broke a fourth period tie with two of them. A graduate of Baltimore's Park School, Mallonee plays in the first attack.

Besides Mallonee, goalie Dan Hannon of Andover, and defenseman John Baldwin of Middlesex, the first ten comes from Exeter. Captain Sandy Leiber and Mike Shaw complete the attack; Jim Herscott and Carl Hammerstrom supply the defense and Fran Leowald of Park alternates with Shaw.

The all-Exeter midfield includes Jim Alley, Pete Hoagland, and Dave Smith.

Backing this first squad, Pickett has a nearly equal second team which draws experience from Dean, Governor Dummer, Lawerence, Middlesex, and Park School. The line between first and second team in quite thin, as evidenced by the almost continual shifting of the lineup in search of workable combinations.

A further cause of shifting has been probation, which has claimed three, and minor injuries which have benched three of Pickett's strong players.